1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to drinking and driving; creating a separate 
  1.3             law to prohibit persons under 21 years of age to drive 
  1.4             a motor vehicle while consuming or after consuming any 
  1.5             amount of alcoholic beverages; providing for license 
  1.6             suspension; amending Minnesota Statutes 1995 
  1.7             Supplement, sections 171.18, subdivision 1; and 
  1.8             340A.503, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law 
  1.9             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [169.1218] [UNDERAGE DRINKING AND DRIVING.] 
  1.12     (a) It is a misdemeanor for a person under the age of 21 
  1.13  years to drive or operate a motor vehicle while consuming 
  1.14  alcoholic beverages, or after having consumed alcoholic 
  1.15  beverages while there is physical evidence of the consumption 
  1.16  present in the person's body. 
  1.17     (b) When a person is found to have committed an offense 
  1.18  under paragraph (a), the court shall notify the commissioner of 
  1.19  public safety of its determination.  Upon receipt of the court's 
  1.20  determination, the commissioner shall suspend the person's 
  1.21  driver's license or operating privileges for 30 days, or for 180 
  1.22  days if the person has previously been found to have violated 
  1.23  paragraph (a) or a statute or ordinance in conformity with 
  1.24  paragraph (a). 
  1.25     (c) If the person's conduct violates section 169.121, 
  1.26  subdivision 1, or 169.1211, the penalties and license sanctions 
  1.27  in those laws apply instead of the license sanction in paragraph 
  2.1   (b). 
  2.2      (d) An offense under paragraph (a) may be prosecuted either 
  2.3   in the jurisdiction where consumption occurs or the jurisdiction 
  2.4   where evidence of consumption is observed. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  2.6   171.18, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.7      Subdivision 1.  [OFFENSES.] The commissioner may suspend 
  2.8   the license of a driver without preliminary hearing upon a 
  2.9   showing by department records or other sufficient evidence that 
  2.10  the licensee: 
  2.11     (1) has committed an offense for which mandatory revocation 
  2.12  of license is required upon conviction; 
  2.13     (2) has been convicted by a court for violating a provision 
  2.14  of chapter 169 or an ordinance regulating traffic and department 
  2.15  records show that the violation contributed in causing an 
  2.16  accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another, 
  2.17  or serious property damage; 
  2.18     (3) is an habitually reckless or negligent driver of a 
  2.19  motor vehicle; 
  2.20     (4) is an habitual violator of the traffic laws; 
  2.21     (5) is incompetent to drive a motor vehicle as determined 
  2.22  in a judicial proceeding; 
  2.23     (6) has permitted an unlawful or fraudulent use of the 
  2.24  license; 
  2.25     (7) has committed an offense in another state that, if 
  2.26  committed in this state, would be grounds for suspension; 
  2.27     (8) has committed a violation of section 169.444, 
  2.28  subdivision 2, paragraph (a), within five years of a prior 
  2.29  conviction under that section; 
  2.30     (9) has committed a violation of section 171.22, except 
  2.31  that the commissioner may not suspend a person's driver's 
  2.32  license based solely on the fact that the person possessed a 
  2.33  fictitious or fraudulently altered Minnesota identification 
  2.34  card; 
  2.35     (10) has failed to appear in court as provided in section 
  2.36  169.92, subdivision 4; or 
  3.1      (11) has failed to report a medical condition that, if 
  3.2   reported, would have resulted in cancellation of driving 
  3.3   privileges; or 
  3.4      (12) has been found to have committed an offense under 
  3.5   section 169.1218, paragraph (a). 
  3.6      However, an action taken by the commissioner under clause 
  3.7   (2) or (5) must conform to the recommendation of the court when 
  3.8   made in connection with the prosecution of the licensee. 
  3.9      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  3.10  340A.503, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.11     Subdivision 1.  [CONSUMPTION.] (a) It is unlawful for any: 
  3.12     (1) retail intoxicating liquor or nonintoxicating liquor 
  3.13  licensee, municipal liquor store, or bottle club permit holder 
  3.14  under section 340A.414, to permit any person under the age of 21 
  3.15  years to drink alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises or 
  3.16  within the municipal liquor store; or 
  3.17     (2) person under the age of 21 years to consume any 
  3.18  alcoholic beverages.  If proven by a preponderance of the 
  3.19  evidence, it is an affirmative defense to a violation of this 
  3.20  clause that the defendant consumed the alcoholic beverage in the 
  3.21  household of the defendant's parent or guardian and with the 
  3.22  consent of the parent or guardian.  
  3.23     (b) An offense under paragraph (a), clause (2), may be 
  3.24  prosecuted either at the place in the jurisdiction where 
  3.25  consumption occurs or the place jurisdiction where evidence of 
  3.26  consumption is observed. 
  3.27     (c) When a person is convicted of or adjudicated for an 
  3.28  offense under paragraph (a), clause (2), the court shall 
  3.29  determine whether the person consumed the alcohol while 
  3.30  operating a motor vehicle.  If so, the court shall notify the 
  3.31  commissioner of public safety of its determination.  Upon 
  3.32  receipt of the court's determination, the commissioner shall 
  3.33  suspend the person's driver's license or operating privileges 
  3.34  for 30 days, or for 180 days if the person has previously been 
  3.35  convicted of or adjudicated for an offense under paragraph (a), 
  3.36  clause (2).  
  4.1      (d) As used in this subdivision, "consume" includes the 
  4.2   ingestion of an alcoholic beverage and the physical condition of 
  4.3   having ingested an alcoholic beverage. 
  4.4      Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.5      Sections 1 to 3 are effective August 1, 1996, and apply to 
  4.6   offenses occurring on or after that date.