HF 717

1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/12/2015 03:41pm

A bill for an act
relating to privacy; establishing standards for use of data collected by an event
data recorder; providing penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 325E.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [325E.595] EVENT DATA RECORDERS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
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new text begin (b) "Event data" means the data elements listed in Code of Federal Regulations, title
49, section 563.7.
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new text begin (c) "Event data recorder" is defined as provided in Code of Federal Regulations, title
49, section 563.5, paragraph (b), as amended.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Owner" means:
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new text begin (1) a person having all of the incidents of ownership of a motor vehicle, including
certificate of title to the motor vehicle pursuant to chapter 168A, regardless of whether the
person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle;
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new text begin (2) a person entitled to possession of a motor vehicle as the purchaser under
a security agreement; or
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new text begin (3) a person entitled to possession of a vehicle as a lessee under a written lease
agreement, if the lease agreement is intended to last for more than three months from
the date of its inception.
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new text begin (e) "Owner's agent" means a natural person, authorized by the owner within the
last 30 days, as the owner's representative.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Event data recorders. new text end

new text begin (a) Event data that is recorded on an event data
recorder is the personal data of the motor vehicle's owner and shall not be downloaded or
retrieved by a person who is not the owner, except in the following circumstances:
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new text begin (1) the owner of the motor vehicle, or the owner's agent, consents to the retrieval of
the data;
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new text begin (2) the data is downloaded or retrieved by an automotive technician to diagnose,
service, or repair the vehicle at the request of the owner or the owner's agent;
new text end

new text begin (3) the data is retrieved by a peace officer, pursuant to a warrant or court order, as
part of an investigation of a suspected violation of law that has caused, or contributed to
the cause of, an accident resulting in damage of property or injury to a person;
new text end

new text begin (4) the data is retrieved for the purpose of emergency medical response in the event
of a motor vehicle accident;
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new text begin (5) the data is subject to discovery pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure in a
claim arising out of a motor vehicle accident;
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new text begin (6) the data is downloaded or retrieved pursuant to the order of a court or an
administrative agency authorized to issue such an order; or
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new text begin (7) the event data recorder was installed after the manufacturer or motor vehicle
dealer sold the motor vehicle.
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new text begin (b) A person authorized to download or retrieve data from an event data recorder
may only release the data to another person or entity in the following circumstances:
new text end

new text begin (1) the owner of the motor vehicle or the owner's agent consents to the release of
the data;
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new text begin (2) the data is subject to discovery pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure in a
claim arising out of a motor vehicle accident;
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new text begin (3) the data is released pursuant to a court order;
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new text begin (4) the data is released to a motor vehicle safety and medical research entity in
order to advance motor vehicle safety, security, or traffic management, provided that the
identity of the owner or driver is not disclosed;
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new text begin (5) the data is released to a data processor solely for the purposes permitted by this
section, provided that the identity of the owner or driver is not disclosed; or
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new text begin (6) the data is released pursuant to the terms of a subscription service agreement.
new text end

new text begin (c) If a motor vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder that is capable of
recording or transmitting event data that is part of a subscription service, the fact that the
data may be recorded or transmitted and instructions for discontinuing the subscription
service or for disabling the event data recorder by a trained service technician must be
prominently disclosed in the subscription service agreement. A disclosure made by means
of an insert into the service agreement is deemed a disclosure in the service agreement.
new text end

new text begin (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), data may be collected without a warrant or
the consent of the vehicle owner if circumstances exist, following a crash resulting in a
serious injury or fatality, which could reasonably result in the loss of data during a vehicle
recovery. Data collected under this paragraph must be limited to only that data necessary
to conduct and analyze a reconstruction of the crash.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Prohibition on destruction of data. new text end

new text begin No person may knowingly alter or
delete data on an event data recorder, or knowingly destroy an event data recorder, after
an accident involving the motor vehicle that resulted in a death or a serious physical
injury, unless a reasonable amount of time for a peace officer to obtain a search warrant
has passed since the date of the accident.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Penalty. new text end

new text begin Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2015, and applies to motor
vehicles sold or leased before, on, or after that date.
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