Bill > HF428

This bill clarifies and strengthens government record retention laws in Minnesota by defining correspondence and establishing a minimum three-year retention period for such records. Specifically, the bill amends existing statutes to define "correspondence" as any written or electronic text-based communication between government officials that documents events, decisions, business, and functions of an agency, while explicitly excluding purely personal communications, social event announcements, and unrelated promotional materials. The bill requires public officers and agencies to preserve government records necessary for a full and accurate knowledge of their activities, and mandates that correspondence records must be kept for at least three years from their creation or receipt. The legislation empowers public officers to reproduce records using various methods like photographic, digital, or optical imaging systems, ensuring that these reproductions are legally equivalent to original documents. Additionally, the bill maintains the existing Records Disposition Panel's authority to direct the destruction, preservation, or reproduction of government records, while providing a more precise framework for managing and retaining official communications across state and local government entities.

Justice

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0428&ssn=0&y=2025