Purpose

• Change how certain government data is classified, shared, and used to help create the jury source list (the pool of people who may be summoned for jury duty).
• Specifically add race and ethnicity information to be provided to the judicial branch for assembling the jury source list, and require some tax-related data to be shared with the judicial branch for the same purpose.

Main Provisions

• Data classifications at the Department of Public Safety (DPS)

  • Private data: Includes medical data on driving instructors, licensed drivers, and applicants for parking certificates and special plates for people with disabilities.
  • Certain non-medical data may be shared with law enforcement and parking authorities as needed for enforcement of related laws.
  • Data about social security numbers (SSNs) is tightly controlled and can be shared only with specified agencies (e.g., Department of Revenue for taxes, Department of Labor and Industry for workers’ compensation, the judicial branch for debt collection, the Department of Natural Resources for license matters). The last four digits may be provided to the Department of Human Services for health care program benefits recovery. The DPS must not sell or freely share SSNs for other purposes.
  • Data about standby or temporary custodians (for example, designated caregivers) has limited sharing to verify or notify caregivers when needed.
  • Race and ethnicity data for drivers license holders and ID holders may be shared with the judicial branch to help create the jury source list. The DPS Office of Traffic Safety may receive race and ethnicity data from Driver and Vehicle Services for research, evaluation, and public reports. Race/ethnicity data must be provided to the judicial branch as part of the jury list information.

• Specific protections and disclosures

  • Data about a person’s driving ability from a family member remains confidential.
  • The bill describes which agencies can receive certain data and for what purposes (research, evaluation, public reporting, enforcement, or debt collection).

• Jury source list updates

  • The judicial branch will receive race and ethnicity data as part of the information used to compile the jury source list.
  • A separate provision requires the commissioner to share with the judicial branch a list of people 17 years or older who file a tax return or receive a tax benefit, to help assemble the jury source list. The shared data will include each person’s full name, birth date, home address, county of residence, and, if available, race and ethnicity.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Adds a new subdivision to Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 13.69 establishing new rules for which Public Safety Department data are private or confidential and when some data can be shared (including race/ethnicity data for jury lists).
• Adds a new subdivision to Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 270B.14 to require disclosure of tax-related data (names, birth dates, addresses, counties, and race/ethnicity if available) to the judicial branch for jury source list creation.
• Explicitly ties race and ethnicity data to the jury selection process, making it part of the information the judiciary can use to assemble the pool of potential jurors.
• Clarifies that several types of sensitive data (like SSNs) remain restricted and may only be shared with specific agencies for defined purposes.

Potential Impact and Considerations

• Purpose and transparency: The bill aims to improve the accuracy and completeness of the jury pool by including race/ethnicity information.
• Privacy and data security: More data is shared with the judicial branch, which could raise privacy concerns. The bill specifies limited sharing and use to protect individuals’ information.
• Public records and research: Some race/ethnicity data can be used for research and public reports, under controlled conditions.

Relevant Terms - jury source list - race and ethnicity data - private data - confidential data - Department of Public Safety (DPS) - Driver and Vehicle Services - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 13.69 - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 270B.14 - tax returns and tax benefits - judicial branch - driving instructors - licensed drivers - parking certificates - special license plates - stand-by/custodians (designated caregivers) - social security numbers (SSN) - data sharing - research, evaluation, public reports - enforcement - debt collection - health care program benefits recovery