HF2959 (Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026))
Data protection requirements in certain property tax proceedings modified.
Related bill: SF3377
AI Generated Summary
Purpose of the Bill
The bill aims to modify data protection requirements in certain property tax proceedings in Minnesota. It seeks to ensure the confidentiality of specific income property assessment data while setting guidelines for its legal discovery and use in tax court proceedings.
Main Provisions
- Data Classification: Income property assessment data such as detailed income and expense figures, vacancy rates, and lease information are designated as private or nonpublic data.
- Legal Discovery: Parties involved in legal proceedings can request access to this private data. However, its usage is restricted solely to the legal proceedings in question. The bill mandates notifying property owners when their data is subject to legal discovery.
- Protective Orders: The Tax Court is required to issue protective orders to prevent public disclosure of private income property assessment data.
- Tax Court Procedures: The bill specifies that during Tax Court hearings, the data classified as nonpublic may only be admitted into evidence if protected by a court order. It establishes the Tax Court as the venue to hear, consider, and rule on appeals regarding property tax assessments.
- Documentation Requirements: Petitioners contesting property valuation must provide specific financial and lease documents to the county assessor by specified deadlines to avoid dismissal of their petitions.
Significant Changes
- Updates the statutes to ensure private property data is protected from unauthorized public dissemination and ensures legal proceedings respect the confidentiality of such data.
- Emphasizes the responsibility of petitioners to provide necessary financial information to assessors timely to support fair valuation assessments.
Relevant Terms
government data practices, data protection, income property assessment, private data, nonpublic data, legal discovery, protective orders, Tax Court, property tax petitions, financial disclosure.
Bill text versions
- Introduction PDF file
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2025 | House | Floor | Action | Introduction and first reading, referred to | Judiciary Finance and Civil Law |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "This section of the bill amends data classification related to income property assessment.",
"modified": [
"Clarifies that specific income and expense figures are classified as private or nonpublic data."
]
},
"citation": "13.51",
"subdivision": "subdivision 2"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Legal parties must notify the property owner when requesting data for legal discovery."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "This section modifies the procedure for legal discovery of income property assessment data.",
"modified": [
"Clarifies that private or nonpublic status does not prevent access in legal proceedings."
]
},
"citation": "13.51",
"subdivision": "subdivision 4"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Requirement for a protective order to prevent disclosure of private data."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Modifies Tax Court procedures for handling income property assessment data.",
"modified": [
"Codifies the use of protective orders in Tax Court proceedings."
]
},
"citation": "271.06",
"subdivision": "subdivision 6"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Protective orders must be issued to protect data privacy."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Addresses the availability and use of assessor records in legal proceedings.",
"modified": [
"Ensures all relevant assessor records are accessible despite data classifications."
]
},
"citation": "278.05",
"subdivision": "subdivision 3"
},
{
"analysis": {
"added": [],
"removed": [],
"summary": "Details requirements for information disclosure in property tax petitions.",
"modified": [
"Specifies information deadlines and penalties for non-compliance in property tax cases."
]
},
"citation": "278.05",
"subdivision": "subdivision 6"
}
]