When the Minnesota Supreme Court recently agreed with the Timberjay Newspaper that JCI’s contact with the St. Louis County Schools was public data per state law it was the good news before the very bad news. In the next breath, or sentence, the Court decreed that despite this state law requiring that this data be made public it could not be enforced unless the contract specified among its written provisions that the parties to the contract would abide by by state law.
It was one of the slipperiest rationalizations of all time to shield Johnson Controls and the St. Louis County Schools from abiding by state law. I presume that Minnesota’s statutes demand that construction projects lead to safe, stable buildings. Under the Court’s reasoning, however, JCI could not be held to account for the deaths of children in a shoddily built school if the parties to the building contract forgot to include a reference to abiding by state building codes.
Go Timberjay!
“Timberjay” bill advances in St. Paul
Measure would overturn Supreme Court decision, and restore public access to government contracts
Marshall Helmberger
ST. PAUL—Legislation that’s been dubbed the “Timberjay bill” moved quickly through legislative committees in both the Minnesota House and Senate this week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday, approved the measure unanimously, without amendment, and forwarded it to the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
The House Civil Law Committee approved the legislation on Wednesday, where it now heads to a floor vote.
The bipartisan measure is an effort by legislators to provide clarification of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, as it pertains to public contracting.
In December, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Timberjay could not obtain information it had requested from Johnson Controls, Inc. related to a major construction project in the St. Louis County School District, despite a state law that makes it clear that private companies are subject to public information requests when they contract with the government. The court excused JCI in the Timberjay case, however, noting that the school district had failed to include an advisory clause in its contract with JCI, that notified the company that it was subject to the law.
The decision ran counter to previous lower court rulings and it rankled many in the Legislature and in the news media, who believe the Supreme Court ignored clear legislative intent in ruling against the Timberjay. The new bill would essentially reinstate the prevailing view of the law that was in place prior to the Supreme Court’s decision.
Tuesday’s vote in the Senate came after testimony in support of the measure from several prominent freedom of information advocates, including Minnesota Newspaper Association attorney Mark Anfinson, representatives of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information, Richard Neumeister, and Don Gemberling, who helped craft the current law.
The only opposition testimony came from attorney Steve Lindeman, who represented Architectural Resources in the Timberjay case.
“It went well,” said Anfinson following the hearing. “Members of the committee understood that this was essentially restoring the law to what everyone thought it was,” he said. The new bill does help clarify some language, said Anfinson, which should reduce the prospect of future litigation over information requests to government contractors. “I think it will be a good advance,” he added
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Chief authors of the bill are Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL- Minneapolis, and Rep. John Lesch , DFL-St. Louis Park, who chairs the House Civil Law Committee. Several co-authors, from both parties, are also advancing the bill.
