New law requires private companies to open govt. contract data

Some private companies may have to release information related to government contracts under a new law signed by Gov. Mark Dayton.  The governor's office announced today he had signed the bill.

The law requires government contractors to disclose any data used to perform functions on behalf of the government. The measure comes after a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling last fall  that said a private company contracting with a northern Minnesota school district did not have to publicly release details of a school construction project.

The Timberjay newspaper and its editor, Marshall Helmberger, had asked Johnson Controls, the company overseeing the St. Louis County schools project, to turn over its subcontract with an architectural firm. Helmberger had wanted to evaluate Johnson Controls' use of taxpayer money for the $78 million reconstruction.

The law exempts HMOs and other health companies from disclosing their contracts until July 2015.

Another provision in the bill also requires the Department of Public Safety to create a bulk plan subscription service for driver's license data and vehicle title records.

Dayton vetoed one portion of the bill that dealt with a special account for the Legislative Auditor. In his veto letter, the governor wrote he did not want to create an open appropriation without fully knowing the costs to implement the law.

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