Public Law Newsletter | Summer 2014 | Volume XXIV | Issue 2

Public Law Section E-News

1. 2014 PLS Awards of Excellence

 

2. May 16 PLS Annual Meeting CLE

3. 2014-15 PLS Executive Council Election Results

Michele Timmons, Minnesota Revisor of Statutes

 

Margaret Westin & Lynn Belgea, PLS Section Co-chairs

 

Sanjeeta Jain, Admin. Law Section Chair

 

Juan Hoyos, PLS Representative

 

• Loaves & Fishes
• Sponsor a Family

9. Public Lawyers on the Move, News from the Bench & Announcements

Eileen Wells, Mankato City Attorney

 

Lynn Belgea

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2014 Public Law Section Awards

On May 16, 2014, the Public Law Section presented its annual awards of excellence.  The following articles are from presentation comments made at the awards ceremony or from nomination letters submitted on behalf of the recipient.

Click here to view award recipients.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        

Cultural Competency; Working Effectively with

Muslim Clients, Colleagues and Customers

 Annual Meeting CLE – May 16, 2014

The 2014 Public Law Section Annual Meeting CLE held on May 16, 2014 was a presentation by Saly Abd Alla, Civil Rights Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), of the basic religious beliefs and cultural practices of Islam.  Providing effective government service to the Minnesota Muslim community, as well as effective advocacy for Muslim clients, starts with understanding their basic religious beliefs and cultural practices.  In October 2013, CAIR-MN received an American Bar Association Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division 2013 “Difference Makers Award” for CAIR-MN’s pro bono work providing free legal services to Muslims and other racial and religious minorities in Minnesota.

In the second part of the presentation Ms. Abd Alla was joined by Osseo Area Schools (ISD No. 279) General Counsel Margaret Westin for a discussion of current and emerging issues in this area and to answer participants’ questions.

CLE Credits:
2.5 Elimination of Bias CLE credits.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Law Section Executive Council Elections for 2014-15

Set out below are the results of the Executive Council Elections held at the Public Law Section Annual Meeting on May 16, 2014.

Co-Chairs (1-year term):
Lynn Belgea- Legal Counsel, Data Practices Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Health
Juan Hoyos – Assistant County Attorney, Ramsey County Attorney’s Office

Secretary: (1-year term):
Lisa Veith – Assistant City Attorney, St. Paul City Attorney’s Office

Treasurer: (1-year term):
Hon. Diane Alshouse – District Court Judge, Second Judicial District

Executive Council (1-year term):
Tori Stewart – Assistant County Attorney, Dakota County Attorney’s Office
Melissa Manderschied – Attorney, Kennedy & Graven

Executive Council (2-year term):
Lisa Gordon—Assistant City Attorney, Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office
Patricia Beety – Attorney, League of Minnesota Cities
Margaret Westin – General Counsel, ISD 279, Osseo Area Schools

Returning Council Members (not on ballot, serving the 2^nd year of 2-year term):
Corrine Heine – Minnetonka City Attorney
Inta Sellers – Co-Chief Human Services Judge, Minnesota Department of Human Services
Laura Zajac—General Counsel, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2014 Minnesota Laws of Interest to Public Lawyers
By Michele L. Timmons, Revisor of Statutes

During the 2014 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature passed 169 bills, with only one full veto and one line-item veto.  2014 was a bonding year, with capital investments made in Chapter 294, H.F. 2490, and Chapter 295, H.F. 1068.  In addition, many policy provisions enacted are relevant to the practices of public attorneys, and this article lists some notable new acts.

Click here to continue reading.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Law Section

2013-14 Annual Report

Section Membership
As of June 3, 2014, the Section has 478 members. 

Financial Status
The Section had an account balance of $8,391.82 as of April 30, 2014.

Continuing Legal Education Programs 
The Section hosted 6 CLE programs in fiscal year 2013-14. 

Click here to continue reading.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Administrative Law Section

2013-14 Annual Report

Section Membership
As of June 6, 2014, the Section has 147 members.

Financial Status
The Section had an account balance of $2,849.99 as of April 30, 2014.

 Continuing Legal Education Programs
The Section hosted 4 CLE programs in fiscal year 2013-14. 

Click here to continue reading.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSBA Assembly Meeting Report
By Juan Hoyos, Public Law Representative

The MSBA assembly met on June 25, 2014, at the Minnesota CLE Center.  It was the last meeting for the 2013-2014 year.  It was also the last meeting for outgoing President Phil Duran.  Richard Kyle will preside as President for the 2014-2015 year.  The assembly voted and approved appointments for three positions to the MSBA Foundation Board.  There are two remaining seats for which the Election/Appointments Committee still seeking candidates.  Also, Ms. Sonia Miller-VanOort, a Minneapolis attorney, was selected as the new MSBA Secretary.

Of note, members of the MSBA’s Judiciary Committee reported on several important initiatives.  The first, allowing the MSBA President to petition the Minnesota Supreme Court to adopt changes to the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct consistent with changes already adopted by the ABA.  The petition would also ask the court to recognize, for the first time, the comments to the rules as authoritative.  The MRPC were first adopted in 1985.  The assembly also considered and approved recommendations to change language within the Minnesota General Rules of Practice, Rules of Professional Conduct and the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure.  The language changes address the non-discrimination portion of the rules and adds language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation” and “status with regard to public assistance, ethnicity”.  These proposals will be considered by the relevant rule committees for further action, if any.  The MSBA’s position on these and other issues may be viewed on the organization’s website at www.mnbar.org.

The next assembly meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2014.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLS Public Service Projects

The Public Law Section is very proud of its public service history.  Since the section was first created in 1991, the PLS has been organizing opportunities for public lawyers and their friends to help out.  We are always looking for volunteers.  If you are interested in helping out, see below for contact information. 

 

No. of Opinion	Date of Opinion	Gov’t Entity Involved	Topic	Opinion Requester
14-001	03/26/2014	Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board	Data Practices Act: Minn. Stat. sections 13.02, 13.03, & 13.607, subd. 2   Inconsistency in data classification terminology used by the Data Practices Act and the Board’s disclosure statute (section 10A.02); data classification by state rule	Newman
14-002	04/15/2014	Bureau of Mediation Services	Data Practices Act: Minn. Stat. section 13.43   Classification of data in an arbitrator’s decision submitted to the Bureau, upholding an employee’s grievance and reversing all aspects of disciplinary action against the employee	BMS Commissioner Tilsen
14-003	04/23/2014	University of Minnesota	Data Practices Act: Minn. Stat. section 13.03, subd. 2a   Determination of prompt and appropriate response to request	Elliott
14-004	05/12/2014	Cold Spring City Council	Open Meeting Law: Minn. Stat. sections 13D.01 & 13D.05   Authority to close a meeting and whether a job applicant is an individual subject to the body’s authority	St. Cloud Times
14-005	06/02/2014	Houston County Board of Commissioners	Open Meeting Law: Minn. Stat. section 13D.01   Statement of the body on the record providing grounds for closing a meeting and describing the subject of the discussion	Tschumper
14-006	06/05/2014	Independent School District 625 (Saint Paul)	Data Practices Act: Minn. Stat. section 13.43   Access to data on complaints about former public employees; classification of names of requesters of public personnel data; requests to access data by data subject	Finnegan
14-007	06/18/2014	Newport City Council	Open Meeting Law: Minn. Stat. section 13D.05   Closed meeting to evaluate performance and summary of conclusions about the evaluation at next open meeting	Schottmuller

Prepared by Lynn Belgea

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upcoming CLEs of Interest to Public Lawyers

IMLA Annual Conference in Baltimore
The International Municipal Lawyers’ Association is holding its annual meeting September 10-14, 2014, in Baltimore.  The conference has been coordinated with Baltimore’s celebration of the 200^th Birthday of the National Anthem, featuring tall ships, a musical concert and spectacular fireworks event.  The conference includes presentations on numerous topics of interest to local government, including e-cigarettes, cybercrime, e-discovery, stormwater permitting, pension eform, local hiring preferences, diversity and discrimination in police and fire, and many other topics.  For more information, go to www.imla.org.

NAGTRI Training – NAAG/SABA
Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar – Practical Perspectives
September 15-17, 2014, Biltmore, Providence, RI
Early Registration Deadline is August 15, 2014

Click here to continue reading.