SF2051

This Minnesota Senate bill (S.F. No. 2051) proposes an amendment to Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 480.40, subdivision 1, to restrict the public dissemination of personal information about county attorneys and employees of county attorney offices.

Key Provisions:

1. Expansion of Judicial Official Definition:

   • The bill includes Minnesota county attorneys and their employees in the definition of "judicial official," extending existing privacy protections to them.

2. Definition of Personal Information:

   • Personal information includes:
     • Residential addresses of judicial officials and their family members.
     • Non-public phone numbers and email addresses.
     • Names of a judicial official’s children.
     • The names of childcare facilities or schools attended by a judicial official’s children, if explicitly linked to them.

3. Exclusion of Publicly Available Information:

   • The bill clarifies that publicly available information does not count as personal information if lawfully obtained from federal, state, or local government records or if disclosed voluntarily by the judicial official.

4. Clarification on Law Enforcement Support Organizations:

   • The bill specifies that charitable organizations are not considered law enforcement support organizations.

Purpose:

The legislation aims to enhance the privacy and security of county attorneys and their office employees by preventing the public dissemination of their personal information, likely in response to concerns about harassment, threats, or safety risks due to their public roles.

Next Steps:

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee for review and discussion.