Minnesotans will find it harder to reach members of hundreds of zoning boards, planning commissions or other government panels because of a decision by the Pawlenty administration to classify members' home addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses as private.
The private classification was sought by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) after several people asked for home information on members of the agency's climate change advisory group, which was appointed by Pawlenty.
But the decision by Administration Commissioner Dana Badgerow also restricts the public's ability to contact members of boards or commissions advising local governments, as well as members of state panels not selected through a formal process requiring greater disclosure.
Badgerow initially issued an opinion that the information should be available to the public, but she later changed her mind.
Badgerow said she classified it as private because the MPCA convinced her that state law is ambiguous on the question. Her temporary classification could last until June 2010 to give the Legislature an opportunity to rewrite the law if it wishes.
The classification applies to volunteers, not elected officials, so a citizen who wants to reach his city council member at home could still get his home address, while someone wouldn't have a right to the home address of a city planning commissioner.
Community activists and others say the decision will complicate efforts to persuade unpaid advisers on policy issues and deny the public valuable details about people who are crucial in shaping government decisions.
"It is important for citizens to know where people live who serve on the local level," said Rich Neumeister, an advocate of both open government and privacy rights who opposed the decision. "Do you want people for a citywide board for zoning to come from one part of town?"
