CHAPTER 91-A ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS AND MEETINGS
Procedure for Release of Personal Information for Research
Purposes
Section 91-A:10
91-A:10 Release of
Statistical Tables and Limited Data Sets for Research. – I. In this subdivision:
(a) "Agency" means each state board,
commission, department, institution, officer or other state official or group.
(b) "Agency head" means the head of any
governmental agency which is responsible for the collection and use of any data
on persons or summary data. (c) "Cell
size" means the count of individuals that share a set of characteristics
contained in a statistical table. (d)
"Data set" means a collection of personal information on one or more
individuals, whether in electronic or manual files.
(e) "Direct identifiers" means:
(1) Names.
(2) Postal address
information other than town or city, state, and zip code.
(3) Telephone and fax
numbers. (4)
Electronic mail addresses.
(5) Social security
numbers. (6)
Certificate and license numbers.
(7) Vehicle
identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers.
(8) Personal Internet
IP addresses and URLs.
(9) Biometric
identifiers, including finger and voice prints.
(10) Personal
photographic images. (f) "Individual"
means a human being, alive or dead, who is the subject of personal information
and includes the individual's legal or other authorized representative.
(g) "Limited data set" means a data set
from which all direct identifiers have been removed or blanked.
(h) "Personal information" means
information relating to an individual that is reported to the state or is
derived from any interaction between the state and an individual and which:
(1) Contains direct
identifiers. (2) Is
under the control of the state. (i)
"Provided by law" means use and disclosure as permitted or required by New
Hampshire state law governing programs or activities undertaken by the state or
its agencies, or required by federal law.
(j) "Public record" means records
available to any person without restriction.
(k) "State" means the state of New
Hampshire, its agencies or instrumentalities.
(l) "Statistical table" means single or
multi-variate counts based on the personal information contained in a data set
and which does not include any direct identifiers.
II.
Except as otherwise provided by law, upon request an agency shall release
limited data sets and statistical tables with any cell size more than 0 and less
than 5 contained in agency files to requestors for the purposes of research
under the following conditions: (a) The
requestor submits a written application that contains:
(1) The following
information about the principal investigator in charge of the research:
(A)
name, address, and phone number;
(B)
organizational affiliation;
(C)
professional qualification; and
(D)
name and phone number of principal investigator's contact person, if any.
(2) The names and
qualifications of additional research staff, if any, who will have access to the
data. (3) A research
protocol which shall contain:
(A)
a summary of background, purposes, and origin of the research;
(B)
a statement of the general problem or issue to be addressed by the research;
(C)
the research design and methodology including either the topics of exploratory
research or the specific research hypotheses to be tested;
(D)
the procedures that will be followed to maintain the confidentiality of any data
or copies of records provided to the investigator; and
(E)
the intended research completion date.
(4) The following
information about the data or statistical tables being requested:
(A)
general types of information;
(B)
time period of the data or statistical tables;
(C)
specific data items or fields of information required, if applicable;
(D)
medium in which the data or statistical tables are to be supplied; and
(E)
any special format or layout of data requested by the principal investigator.
(b) The requestor signs a "Data Use
Agreement" signed by the principal investigator that contains the following:
(1) Agreement not to
use or further disclose the information to any person or organization other than
as described in the application and as permitted by the Data Use Agreement
without the written consent of the agency.
(2) Agreement not to
use or further disclose the information as otherwise required by law.
(3) Agreement not to
seek to ascertain the identity of individuals revealed in the limited data set
and/or statistical tables.
(4) Agreement not to
publish or make public the content of cells in statistical tables in which the
cell size is more than 0 and less than 5 unless:
(A)
otherwise provided by law; or
(B)
the information is a public record.
(5) Agreement to
report to the agency any use or disclosure of the information contrary to the
agreement of which the principal investigator becomes aware.
(6) A date on which
the data set and/or statistical tables will be returned to the agency and/or all
copies in the possession of the requestor will be destroyed.
III. The agency head shall release limited data sets and
statistical tables and sign the Data Use Agreement on behalf of the state when:
(a) The application submitted is
complete. (b) Adequate measures to
ensure the confidentiality of any person are documented.
(c) The investigator and research staff
are qualified as indicated by:
(1) Documentation of
training and previous research, including prior publications; and
(2) Affiliation with
a university, private research organization, medical center, state agency, or
other institution which will provide sufficient research resources.
(d) There is no other state law,
federal law, or federal regulation prohibiting release of the requested
information.
IV. Within 10 days of a receipt of written
application, the agency head, or designee, shall respond to the request.
Whenever the agency head denies release of requested information, the agency
head shall send the requestor a letter identifying the specific criteria which
are the basis of the denial. Should release be denied due to other law, the
letter shall identify the specific state law, federal law, or federal regulation
prohibiting the release. Otherwise the agency head shall provide the requested
data or set a date on which the data shall be provided.
V. Any person violating any provision of a signed Data Use Agreement shall be
guilty of a violation.
VI. Nothing in this section shall
exempt any requestor from paying fees otherwise established by law for obtaining
copies of limited data sets or statistical tables. Such fees shall be based on
the cost of providing the copy in the format requested. The agency head shall
provide the requestor with a written description of the basis for the fee.