1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to motor carriers; regulating hazardous 
  1.3             material transporters; requiring fingerprints of motor 
  1.4             carrier managers for criminal background checks; 
  1.5             making technical changes related to calculating 
  1.6             proportional mileage under the international 
  1.7             registration plan; specifying violations that may 
  1.8             result in suspension or revocation of permit; making 
  1.9             technical changes relating to hazardous waste 
  1.10            transporter licenses; providing for disposition of 
  1.11            fees collected for hazardous material registration, 
  1.12            licensing, and permitting; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.13            1994, section 221.0355, subdivisions 3, 5, 6, 12, 15, 
  1.14            and by adding a subdivision.  
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
  1.17  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.18     Subd. 3.  [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.] Except as provided in 
  1.19  subdivision 17, after October 1, 1994: 
  1.20     (a) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
  1.21  hazardous material by motor vehicle in Minnesota unless it has 
  1.22  complied with subdivision 4. 
  1.23     (b) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
  1.24  hazardous waste in Minnesota unless it has complied with 
  1.25  subdivisions 4 and 5. 
  1.26     (c) No shipper may offer a designated hazardous material 
  1.27  for shipment or cause a designated hazardous material to be 
  1.28  transported or shipped in Minnesota unless it has complied with 
  1.29  subdivision 7. 
  1.30     (d) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
  2.1   designated hazardous material by rail or water in Minnesota 
  2.2   unless it has complied with subdivision 7a. 
  2.3      (e) No public entity may transport a hazardous material or 
  2.4   hazardous waste by motor vehicle in Minnesota unless it has 
  2.5   complied with subdivision 8. 
  2.6      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
  2.7   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.8      Subd. 5.  [HAZARDOUS WASTE TRANSPORTERS.] (a) A carrier 
  2.9   with its principal place of business in Minnesota or who 
  2.10  designates Minnesota as its base state shall file a disclosure 
  2.11  statement with and obtain a permit from the commissioner that 
  2.12  specifically authorizes the transportation of hazardous waste 
  2.13  before transporting a hazardous waste in Minnesota.  A carrier 
  2.14  that designates another participating state as its base state 
  2.15  shall file a disclosure statement with and obtain a permit from 
  2.16  that state that specifically authorizes the transportation of 
  2.17  hazardous waste before transporting a hazardous waste in 
  2.18  Minnesota.  A registration is valid for one year from the date a 
  2.19  notice of registration form is issued and a permit is valid for 
  2.20  three years from the date issued or until a carrier fails to 
  2.21  renew its registration, whichever occurs first. 
  2.22     (b) A disclosure statement must include the information 
  2.23  contained in part III of the uniform application.  A person who 
  2.24  has direct management responsibility for a carrier's hazardous 
  2.25  waste transportation operations shall submit a full set of the 
  2.26  person's fingerprints, with the carrier's disclosure statement, 
  2.27  for identification purposes and to enable the commissioner to 
  2.28  determine whether the person has a criminal record.  The 
  2.29  commissioner shall send the person's fingerprints to the Federal 
  2.30  Bureau of Investigation and shall request the bureau to conduct 
  2.31  a check of the person's criminal record.  The commissioner shall 
  2.32  not issue a notice of registration or permit to a hazardous 
  2.33  waste transporter who has not made a full and accurate 
  2.34  disclosure of the required information or paid the fees required 
  2.35  by this subdivision.  Making a materially false or misleading 
  2.36  statement in a disclosure statement is prohibited. 
  3.1      (c) The commissioner shall assess a carrier the actual 
  3.2   costs charged incurred by the commissioner by a person for 
  3.3   conducting the uniform program's required investigation of the 
  3.4   information contained in a disclosure statement. 
  3.5      (d) A permit under this subdivision becomes a license under 
  3.6   section 221.035, subdivision 1, on August 1, 1996, and is 
  3.7   subject to the provisions of section 221.035 until it expires. 
  3.8      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
  3.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.10     Subd. 6.  [APPORTIONED VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE 
  3.11  CALCULATION.] (a) An apportioned vehicle registration fee shall 
  3.12  be equal to the percentage of Minnesota transportation 
  3.13  multiplied by the percentage of hazardous material 
  3.14  transportation multiplied by the total number of vehicles the 
  3.15  carrier operates multiplied by a per-vehicle fee of $30. 
  3.16     (b) A carrier shall calculate its percentage of Minnesota 
  3.17  transportation and its percentage of hazardous material 
  3.18  transportation as follows: 
  3.19     (1) A carrier shall determine its percentage of Minnesota 
  3.20  transportation by dividing the number of miles it traveled in 
  3.21  Minnesota under the international registration plan, pursuant to 
  3.22  section 168.187, during the previous year, by the number of 
  3.23  miles it traveled nationwide in the United States and Canada 
  3.24  under the international registration plan during the previous 
  3.25  year.  If a carrier operated only in Minnesota, it must use 100 
  3.26  percent of the miles traveled as its percentage of Minnesota 
  3.27  transportation.  If a carrier does not register its vehicles 
  3.28  through the international registration plan, it must calculate 
  3.29  the number of miles traveled in the manner required under the 
  3.30  international registration plan.  If a carrier operates more 
  3.31  than one fleet under the international registration plan the 
  3.32  carrier must add all miles traveled by all vehicles in all 
  3.33  fleets to calculate its mileage.  A Minnesota carrier who 
  3.34  operates in an adjacent state under a reciprocal agreement with 
  3.35  that state must include the miles operated under the agreement 
  3.36  as miles traveled in Minnesota in calculating mileage under this 
  4.1   clause. 
  4.2      (2) A carrier shall determine its percentage of hazardous 
  4.3   material transportation as follows: 
  4.4      (i) for less-than-truckload shipments, it must divide the 
  4.5   weight of the carrier's hazardous material and hazardous waste 
  4.6   shipments transported during the previous year by the total 
  4.7   weight of all shipments transported during the previous year; or 
  4.8      (ii) for truckload shipments, it must divide the number of 
  4.9   shipments transported during the previous year for which 
  4.10  placarding, marking, or manifesting, was required by Code of 
  4.11  Federal Regulations, title 49, part 172, by the total number of 
  4.12  all shipments transported during the previous year. 
  4.13     (c) A carrier that transports both truckload and 
  4.14  less-than-truckload shipments of hazardous material or hazardous 
  4.15  waste must determine its percentage of hazardous material 
  4.16  transportation by calculating the absolute percentage of 
  4.17  business that is hazardous material transportation on a 
  4.18  proportional basis with the percentage of business that is not 
  4.19  hazardous material transportation.  If a method of determining a 
  4.20  carrier's percentage of hazardous material transportation based 
  4.21  on general percentage ranges, instead of actual percentages, 
  4.22  becomes allowed under the uniform program, a carrier shall use 
  4.23  that method to determine its percentage of hazardous material 
  4.24  transportation or by calculating its percentage within the 
  4.25  ranges allowed following procedures under the uniform program. 
  4.26     (d) The definitions of "truckload freight" and 
  4.27  "less-than-truckload freight" in section 221.011, do not apply 
  4.28  to this subdivision. 
  4.29     (e) A carrier may use data from its most recent complete 
  4.30  fiscal year or the most recent complete calendar year in 
  4.31  calculating the percentages required in this subdivision for 
  4.32  transportation conducted during the previous year. 
  4.33     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
  4.34  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
  4.35     Subd. 12.  [SUSPENSION, REVOCATION, AND DENIAL.] (a) The 
  4.36  commissioner may suspend or revoke a registration and permit 
  5.1   issued under this section or order the suspension of the 
  5.2   transportation of hazardous material or hazardous waste in 
  5.3   Minnesota by a carrier who has obtained a notice of registration 
  5.4   and permit from another participating state under the uniform 
  5.5   program if the commissioner determines that a carrier made a 
  5.6   materially false or misleading statement in a uniform 
  5.7   application or that a carrier's conduct constitutes a serious or 
  5.8   repeated violation of statutes or rules governing the 
  5.9   transportation of hazardous material or hazardous waste.:  
  5.10     (1) committed a violation of Code of Federal Regulations, 
  5.11  title 49, parts 100 to 180, 383, 387, or 390 to 397, while 
  5.12  engaging in hazardous materials transportation if the violation 
  5.13  posed an imminent hazard to the public or the environment; 
  5.14     (2) made a knowing falsification of a material fact in a 
  5.15  uniform application; 
  5.16     (3) has received an unsatisfactory safety rating from the 
  5.17  state or the United States Department of Transportation; or 
  5.18     (4) has exhibited reckless disregard for the public and the 
  5.19  environment.  
  5.20     (b) In determining if a carrier has exhibited reckless 
  5.21  disregard for the public and the environment in violation of 
  5.22  paragraph (a), clause (4), the commissioner shall consider:  
  5.23     (1) whether the carrier has engaged in a pattern of 
  5.24  violations of Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, parts 100 
  5.25  to 180, 383, 387, or 390 to 397, or regulations governing the 
  5.26  management of hazardous waste, while engaging in hazardous 
  5.27  materials transportation, when the violations are viewed in 
  5.28  relation to the number of truck-miles of hazardous material 
  5.29  transportation and the number of vehicles in the carrier's 
  5.30  fleet; 
  5.31     (2) the actual or potential level of environmental damage 
  5.32  resulting from an incident or a violation of the federal 
  5.33  regulations described in paragraph (a), clause (1); 
  5.34     (3) the response by the carrier to an incident or a 
  5.35  violation of the federal regulations described in paragraph (a), 
  5.36  clause (1); 
  6.1      (4) the carrier's history of violations for the past three 
  6.2   years; 
  6.3      (5) any mitigating factors; and 
  6.4      (6) other factors as justice requires, if the commissioner 
  6.5   specifically identifies the additional factors in the order of 
  6.6   suspension or revocation.  
  6.7      (c) The commissioner may not issue a notice of registration 
  6.8   and permit to a carrier if the commissioner determines that a 
  6.9   carrier's conduct would constitute grounds for suspension or 
  6.10  revocation under this subdivision.  A carrier who wishes to 
  6.11  contest a denial, suspension, or revocation is entitled to a 
  6.12  hearing under chapter 14.  
  6.13     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
  6.14  subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
  6.15     Subd. 15.  [HAZARDOUS WASTE LICENSES.] (a) From October 1, 
  6.16  1994, until August 1, 1996, the commissioner shall not register 
  6.17  hazardous material transporters under section 221.0335 or 
  6.18  license hazardous waste transporters under section 221.035.  A 
  6.19  person who is licensed under section 221.035 need not obtain a 
  6.20  permit under subdivision 4 or 5 for the transportation of 
  6.21  hazardous waste in Minnesota, until the person's license has 
  6.22  expired.  A carrier wishing to transport hazardous waste in 
  6.23  another participating state shall obtain a permit under the 
  6.24  uniform program authorizing the transportation. 
  6.25     (b) The commissioner may refund fees paid under section 
  6.26  221.035, minus a proportional amount calculated on a monthly 
  6.27  basis for each month that a hazardous waste transporter license 
  6.28  was valid, to a person who was issued a hazardous waste 
  6.29  transporter license after May 5, 1994, who applied for a permit 
  6.30  authorizing the transportation of hazardous waste under 
  6.31  subdivisions 4 and 5 before October 1, 1994, and who was 
  6.32  subsequently issued that permit under the uniform program. 
  6.33     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, is 
  6.34  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.35     Subd. 18.  [DEPOSIT AND USE OF FEES.] Fees received by the 
  6.36  commissioner for administrative processing and investigating 
  7.1   information in a disclosure statement must be deposited in the 
  7.2   state treasury and credited to the trunk highway fund.  
  7.3   Notwithstanding section 221.82, registration fees collected 
  7.4   under subdivisions 4, 5, 7, and 7a must be deposited in the 
  7.5   state treasury, credited to the general fund, and used to cover 
  7.6   the costs of hazardous materials incident response capability 
  7.7   under sections 299A.48 to 299A.52 and 299K.095. 
  7.8      Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  7.9      Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  7.10  enactment.