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Senate amends restorative-practice bill to make paid facilitators' names public when government pays them
Summary
Committee adopted amendments clarifying that paid facilitators who are government employees or contracted to perform government functions are treated as public data; volunteers remain private when not government-funded.
Senator Pappas led discussion on Senate File 2,200, a bill addressing confidentiality for participants in restorative practices. Committee members, advocates and counsel debated whether individuals who receive payment for facilitating restorative practices should be treated as public data.
Professor Amanda Seely (testimony referenced) and panelists said government employees and contractors performing governmental functions should remain subject to public-data classifications for personnel or contract information; community volunteers, however, should retain privacy protections. The committee discussed stipends (bus cards, gas cards) versus formal payment and whether that should change the classification of an individual's identifying data.
Senator Croon proposed an amendment clarifying that "individuals who receive payment to facilitate a restorative practice" be treated as public; committee counsel suggested replacing the generic term "individual" with the statutory term for "facilitator." After exchanges about whether a private nonprofit contracted by government would create public data, counsel identified Minnesota Statutes §13.05 subdivision 11 (contracted government functions) as relevant. The committee adopted an A8 amendment with an oral change to limit the language to facilitators rather than all paid participants. Advocates and the author said the language applies only to government-funded restorative practices; community-based efforts that do not receive government funds remain private.
Senator Pappas said the bill would be dual-tracked (sent to the floor and considered for omnibus pension inclusion in an earlier context). The amended A6 (as amended by A8) was adopted and the committee moved Senate File 2,200 as amended forward; the transcript records the motion to recommend passage and that it carried.
Why it matters: The change clarifies data-classification rules for restorative-practice programs that use public funds, ensuring transparency about who the government pays to facilitate sessions while preserving confidentiality for unpaid community volunteers in non-governmental restorative programs.
Votes at a glance: A8 amendment (as amended) adopted; A6 as amended adopted; Senate File 2,200 as amended recommended to pass (motion carried).
