HF3872 Summary

• Classifies personal information of judicial officials as private data and establishes a misdemeanor offense for knowingly publishing such information with intent to threaten, intimidate, harass, or injure (elevates to felony if bodily harm results).

• Amends family law to allow same-sex couples to enter antenuptial contracts and validates existing agreements regardless of the parties' sex.

• Makes various judiciary policy and technical corrections including court collections procedures, notice publication methods on the Minnesota judicial branch website, and employee jury service protections.

• Modifies guardianship laws to limit guardian powers to only those necessary for demonstrated needs and restricts guardians' ability to limit wards' communications and social activities without documented good cause.

• Revises public defense structure by increasing State Board membership requirements for geographic representation and changing removal procedures for chief public defenders to require majority board vote instead of "for cause" standard.