1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; modifying provisions 
  1.3             regulating disability parking; abolishing certain 
  1.4             credit for vehicle registration fee; specifically 
  1.5             authorizing statutory and home rule charter cities to 
  1.6             adopt ordinances regulating long-term parking; 
  1.7             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.8             sections 168.021, subdivision 2; 169.345, subdivisions 
  1.9             1, 3, and 4; and 169.346, subdivision 3, and by adding 
  1.10            a subdivision. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 168.021, 
  1.13  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [DESIGN OF PLATES; FURNISHING BY REGISTRAR.] The 
  1.15  registrar of motor vehicles shall design and furnish two license 
  1.16  number plates with attached emblems to each eligible owner.  The 
  1.17  emblem must bear the internationally accepted wheelchair symbol, 
  1.18  as designated in section 16B.61, subdivision 5, approximately 
  1.19  three inches square.  The emblem must be large enough to be 
  1.20  visible plainly from a distance of 50 feet.  An applicant 
  1.21  eligible for the special plates shall pay the motor vehicle 
  1.22  registration fee authorized by law less a credit of $1 for each 
  1.23  month registered. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.345, 
  1.25  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.26     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE OF PRIVILEGE.] A vehicle that 
  1.27  prominently displays the certificate authorized by this section 
  1.28  or that bears license plates issued under section 168.021, may 
  2.1   be parked by or solely for the benefit of a physically disabled 
  2.2   person: 
  2.3      (1) in a designated parking space for disabled persons, as 
  2.4   provided in section 169.346; and 
  2.5      (2) in a metered parking space without obligation to pay 
  2.6   the meter fee and without time restrictions unless time 
  2.7   restrictions are separately posted on official signs; and 
  2.8      (3) in a nonmetered parking space, without time 
  2.9   restrictions, where parking is otherwise allowed for passenger 
  2.10  vehicles but restricted to a maximum period of time, and where 
  2.11  the exercise of disabled parking privileges in that space is not 
  2.12  specifically prohibited. 
  2.13     A person may park a vehicle for a physically disabled 
  2.14  person in a parking space described in clause (1), (2), or (3) 
  2.15  only when actually transporting the physically disabled person 
  2.16  for the sole benefit of that person and when the parking space 
  2.17  is within a reasonable distance from the drop-off point. 
  2.18     For purposes of this subdivision, a certificate is 
  2.19  prominently displayed if it is displayed so that it may be 
  2.20  viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from 
  2.21  the rearview mirror attached to the front windshield of the 
  2.22  vehicle.  If there is no rearview mirror or if the certificate 
  2.23  holder's disability precludes placing the certificate on the 
  2.24  mirror, the placard must be displayed on the dashboard on the 
  2.25  driver's side of the vehicle.  No part of the certificate may be 
  2.26  obscured. 
  2.27     Notwithstanding clauses (1) and, (2), and (3), this section 
  2.28  does not permit parking in areas prohibited by sections 169.32 
  2.29  and 169.34, in designated no parking spaces, or in parking 
  2.30  spaces reserved for specified purposes or vehicles.  A local 
  2.31  governmental unit may, by ordinance, prohibit parking on any 
  2.32  street or highway to create a fire lane, or to accommodate heavy 
  2.33  traffic during morning and afternoon rush hours and these 
  2.34  ordinances also apply to physically disabled persons. 
  2.35     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.345, 
  2.36  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 3.  [IDENTIFYING CERTIFICATE.] (a) The division of 
  3.2   driver and vehicle services in the department of public safety 
  3.3   shall issue (1) immediately, a temporary permit valid for 30 
  3.4   days, if the person is eligible for the certificate issued under 
  3.5   this paragraph, and (2) a special identifying certificate for a 
  3.6   motor vehicle when a physically disabled applicant submits proof 
  3.7   of physical disability under subdivision 2a.  The commissioner 
  3.8   shall design separate certificates for persons with permanent 
  3.9   and temporary disabilities that can be readily distinguished 
  3.10  from each other from outside a vehicle at a distance of 25 
  3.11  feet.  The certificate is valid for six years, if the disability 
  3.12  is specified in the physician's or chiropractor's statement as 
  3.13  permanent, and is valid for a period not to exceed six months, 
  3.14  if the disability is specified as temporary. 
  3.15     (b) When the commissioner is satisfied that a motor vehicle 
  3.16  is used primarily for the purpose of transporting physically 
  3.17  disabled persons, the division may issue without charge (1) 
  3.18  immediately, a temporary permit valid for 30 days, if the 
  3.19  operator is eligible for the certificate issued under this 
  3.20  paragraph, and (2) a special identifying certificate for the 
  3.21  vehicle.  The operator of a vehicle displaying the certificate 
  3.22  or temporary permit has the parking privileges provided in 
  3.23  subdivision 1 only while the vehicle is actually in use for 
  3.24  transporting physically disabled persons.  The certificate 
  3.25  issued to a person transporting physically disabled persons must 
  3.26  be renewed every third year.  On application and renewal, the 
  3.27  person must present evidence that the vehicle continues to be 
  3.28  used for transporting physically disabled persons.  When the 
  3.29  commissioner of public safety issues commercial certificates to 
  3.30  an organization, the commissioner shall require documentation 
  3.31  satisfactory to the commissioner from each organization that 
  3.32  procedures and controls have been implemented to ensure that the 
  3.33  parking privileges available under this section will not be 
  3.34  abused.  
  3.35     (c) A certificate must be made of plastic or similar 
  3.36  durable material and must bear its expiration date prominently 
  4.1   on both sides.  A certificate issued prior to January 1, 1994, 
  4.2   must bear its expiration date prominently on its face and will 
  4.3   remain valid until that date or December 31, 2000, whichever 
  4.4   shall come first.  A certificate issued to a temporarily 
  4.5   disabled person must display the date of expiration of the 
  4.6   duration of the disability, as determined under paragraph (a).  
  4.7   Each applicant must be provided a summary of the parking 
  4.8   privileges and restrictions that apply to each vehicle for which 
  4.9   the certificate is used.  The commissioner may charge a fee of 
  4.10  $5 for issuance or renewal of a certificate or temporary permit, 
  4.11  and a fee of $5 for a duplicate to replace a lost, stolen, or 
  4.12  damaged certificate or temporary permit.  The commissioner shall 
  4.13  not charge a fee for issuing a certificate to a person who has 
  4.14  paid a fee for issuance of a temporary permit.  The commissioner 
  4.15  shall not issue more than three replacement certificates within 
  4.16  any six-year period without the approval of the council on 
  4.17  disability.  
  4.18     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.345, 
  4.19  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.20     Subd. 4.  [UNAUTHORIZED USE; REVOCATION; MISDEMEANOR.] If a 
  4.21  peace officer, authorized parking enforcement employee or agent 
  4.22  of a statutory or home rule charter city or town, or authorized 
  4.23  agent of the citizen enforcement program finds that the 
  4.24  certificate or temporary permit is being improperly used, the 
  4.25  officer, municipal employee, or agent shall report the violation 
  4.26  to the division of driver and vehicle services in the department 
  4.27  of public safety and the commissioner of public safety may 
  4.28  revoke the certificate or temporary permit.  A person who uses 
  4.29  the certificate or temporary permit in violation of this section 
  4.30  is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of $500. 
  4.31     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.346, 
  4.32  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  4.33     Subd. 3.  [MISDEMEANOR; ENFORCEMENT.] A person who violates 
  4.34  subdivision 1 is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not 
  4.35  less than $100 or more than $200.  This subdivision shall be 
  4.36  enforced in the same manner as parking ordinances or regulations 
  5.1   in the governmental subdivision in which the violation occurs.  
  5.2   Law enforcement officers have the authority to tag vehicles 
  5.3   parked on either private or public property in violation of 
  5.4   subdivision 1.  Parking enforcement employees or agents of 
  5.5   statutory or home rule charter cities or towns have the 
  5.6   authority to tag or otherwise issue citations for vehicles 
  5.7   parked on public property in violation of subdivision 1.  If a 
  5.8   holder of a disability certificate or disability plates allows a 
  5.9   person who is not otherwise eligible to use the certificate or 
  5.10  plates, then the holder shall not be eligible to be issued or to 
  5.11  use a disability certificate or plates for 12 months after the 
  5.12  date of violation.  A physically disabled person, or a person 
  5.13  parking a vehicle for a disabled person, who is charged with 
  5.14  violating subdivision 1 because the person parked in a parking 
  5.15  space for physically disabled persons without the required 
  5.16  certificate, license plates, or temporary permit shall not be 
  5.17  convicted if the person produces in court or before the court 
  5.18  appearance the required certificate, temporary permit, or 
  5.19  evidence that the person has been issued license plates under 
  5.20  section 168.021, and demonstrates entitlement to the 
  5.21  certificate, plates, or temporary permit at the time of arrest 
  5.22  or tagging. 
  5.23     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.346, is 
  5.24  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.25     Subd. 5.  [LOCAL ORDINANCE; LONG-TERM PARKING.] A statutory 
  5.26  or home rule charter city may adopt an ordinance establishing a 
  5.27  permit program for long-term parking. 
  5.28     Sec. 7.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.29     (a) $138,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2000 and 
  5.30  $40,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2001 from the highway 
  5.31  user tax distribution fund to the commissioner of public safety 
  5.32  for computer programming and staffing for disabled parking 
  5.33  records management and enforcement. 
  5.34     (b) Of this appropriation, $98,000 the first year is for 
  5.35  computer programming and may not be added to the agency's budget 
  5.36  base.