§ 13.591

Prairie Island Indian Community v. Minnesota Department of Public Safety · 2003 1 citation

Fourth, a different part of the MGDPA sheds light on the classification of certain financial statements. When a business requests financial assistance from a governmental entity, financial data is typically submitted as a part of the loan or grant request. The MGDPA gives certain financial documents complete nonpublic status and others temporary nonpublic status, which is withdrawn if the assistance is granted. Minn. Stat. § 13.591, subds. 1, 2. *888 Balance sheets and net-worth calculations lose protected status; business plans, customer lists, and tax returns keep the protected status; and income-and-expense projections unrelated to the assistance keep the protection. Id. It appears that the legislature concluded that a business with a public financial dimension gives up protected, private treatment for its basic, core financial statements, but retains it for its detailed and unique private data and for its future plans. Although we do not have any parallel legislative distinctions in connection with trade secrets generally, or gaming reports in particular, this distinction in the MGDPA is of interest. It is legislative recognition that basic financial statements like the ones involved in this case may not qualify for special protection.