1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to unemployment insurance; authorizing the
1.3 	use of certain data by local and state welfare
1.4 	agencies; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section
1.5 	268.19, subdivision 1.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 268.19,
1.8 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Use of data.  (a) Except as otherwise
1.10 	provided by this section, data gathered from any person pursuant
1.11 	to the administration of the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance
1.12 	Law are private data on individuals or nonpublic data not on
1.13 	individuals as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 9 and 12,
1.14 	and may not be disclosed except pursuant to a court order or
1.15 	section 13.05.  A subpoena shall not be considered a court
1.16 	order.  These data may be disseminated to and used by the
1.17 	following agencies without the consent of the subject of the
1.18 	data:
1.19 	(1) state and federal agencies specifically authorized
1.20 	access to the data by state or federal law;
1.21 	(2) any agency of any other state or any federal agency
1.22 	charged with the administration of an unemployment insurance
1.23 	program;
1.24 	(3) any agency responsible for the maintenance of a system
1.25 	of public employment offices for the purpose of assisting
2.1 	individuals in obtaining employment;
2.2 	(4) human rights agencies within Minnesota that have
2.3 	enforcement powers;
2.4 	(5) the Department of Revenue only to the extent necessary
2.5 	for its duties under Minnesota laws;
2.6 	(6) public and private agencies responsible for
2.7 	administering publicly financed assistance programs for the
2.8 	purpose of monitoring the eligibility of the program's
2.9 	recipients;
2.10 	(7) the Department of Labor and Industry and the Division
2.11 	of Insurance Fraud Prevention in the Department of Commerce on
2.12 	an interchangeable basis with the department for uses consistent
2.13 	with the administration of their duties under Minnesota law;
2.14 	(8) local and state welfare agencies for monitoring the
2.15 	eligibility of the data subject for assistance programs, or for
2.16 	any employment or training program administered by those
2.17 	agencies, whether alone, in combination with another welfare
2.18 	agency, or in conjunction with the department or to monitor and
2.19 	evaluate the statewide Minnesota family investment program by
2.20 	providing data on recipients and former recipients of food
2.21 	stamps or food support, cash assistance under chapter 256, 256D,
2.22 	256J, or 256K, child care assistance under chapter 119B, or
2.23 	medical programs under chapter 256B, 256D, or 256L;
2.24 	(9) local and state welfare agencies for the purpose of
2.25 	identifying employment, wages, and other information to assist
2.26 	in the collection of an overpayment debt in an assistance
2.27 	program;
2.28 	(10) local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for
2.29 	the sole purpose of ascertaining the last known address and
2.30 	employment location of a person who is the subject of a criminal
2.31 	investigation;
2.32 	~~(10)~~ (11) the federal Immigration and Naturalization
2.33 	Service shall have access to data on specific individuals and
2.34 	specific employers provided the specific individual or specific
2.35 	employer is the subject of an investigation by that agency; and
2.36 	~~(11)~~ (12) the Department of Health solely for the purposes
3.1 	of epidemiologic investigations.
3.2 	(b) Data on individuals and employers that are collected,
3.3 	maintained, or used by the department in an investigation
3.4 	pursuant to section 268.182 are confidential as to data on
3.5 	individuals and protected nonpublic data not on individuals as
3.6 	defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 3 and 13, and must not be
3.7 	disclosed except pursuant to statute or court order or to a
3.8 	party named in a criminal proceeding, administrative or
3.9 	judicial, for preparation of a defense.
3.10 	(c) Data gathered by the department pursuant to the
3.11 	administration of the Minnesota unemployment insurance program
3.12 	must not be made the subject or the basis for any suit in any
3.13 	civil proceedings, administrative or judicial, unless the action
3.14 	is initiated by the department.