1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to veterans; providing for lifetime license 
  1.3             plates for veterans and certain members of the 
  1.4             military; authorizing special license plates for 
  1.5             veterans of the United States military action in 
  1.6             Grenada; exempting veterans from the special motor 
  1.7             vehicle license plate design that identifies 
  1.8             eligibility groups using decal stickers; amending 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 168.12, subdivision 
  1.10            1; 168.123, subdivision 2; 168.1291, subdivision 1. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 168.12, 
  1.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [NUMBER PLATES; DESIGN, VISIBILITY, PERIODS 
  1.15  OF ISSUANCE.] (a) The registrar, upon the approval and payment, 
  1.16  shall issue to the applicant the number plates required by law, 
  1.17  bearing the state name and the number assigned.  The number 
  1.18  assigned may be a combination of a letter or sign with figures.  
  1.19  The color of the plates and the color of the abbreviation of the 
  1.20  state name and the number assigned shall be in marked contrast.  
  1.21  The plates shall be lettered, spaced, or distinguished to 
  1.22  suitably indicate the registration of the vehicle according to 
  1.23  the rules of the registrar, and when a vehicle is registered on 
  1.24  the basis of total gross weight, the plates issued shall clearly 
  1.25  indicate by letters or other suitable insignia the maximum gross 
  1.26  weight for which the tax has been paid.  These number plates 
  1.27  shall be so treated as to be at least 100 times brighter than 
  1.28  the conventional painted number plates.  When properly mounted 
  2.1   on an unlighted vehicle, these number plates, when viewed from a 
  2.2   vehicle equipped with standard headlights, shall be visible for 
  2.3   a distance of not less than 1,500 feet and readable for a 
  2.4   distance of not less than 110 feet. 
  2.5      (b) The registrar shall issue these number plates for the 
  2.6   following periods: 
  2.7      (1) New number plates issued pursuant to section 168.012, 
  2.8   subdivision 1, shall be issued to a vehicle for as long as it is 
  2.9   owned by the exempt agency and shall not be transferable from 
  2.10  one vehicle to another but may be transferred with the vehicle 
  2.11  from one tax-exempt agency to another.  
  2.12     (2) Plates issued for passenger automobiles as defined in 
  2.13  section 168.011, subdivision 7, shall be issued for a seven-year 
  2.14  period.  All plates issued under this paragraph must be replaced 
  2.15  if they are seven years old or older at the time of annual 
  2.16  registration or will become so during the registration period. 
  2.17     (3) Number plates issued under sections 168.053 and 168.27, 
  2.18  subdivisions 16 and 17, shall be for a seven-year period. 
  2.19     (4) Number plates issued under subdivisions 2c and 2d and 
  2.20  section 168.123 shall be issued for the life of the veteran 
  2.21  under section 169.79. 
  2.22     (5) Plates for any vehicle not specified in clauses (1) to 
  2.23  (3), except for trailers as hereafter provided, shall be issued 
  2.24  for the life of the vehicle.  Beginning with number plates 
  2.25  issued for the year 1981, plates issued for trailers with a 
  2.26  total gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less shall be issued for 
  2.27  the life of the trailer and shall be not more than seven inches 
  2.28  in length and four inches in width. 
  2.29     (c) In a year in which plates are not issued, the registrar 
  2.30  shall issue for each registration a tab or sticker to designate 
  2.31  the year of registration.  This tab or sticker shall show the 
  2.32  calendar year or years for which issued, and is valid only for 
  2.33  that period.  The number plates, number tabs, or stickers issued 
  2.34  for a motor vehicle may not be transferred to another motor 
  2.35  vehicle during the period for which it is issued, except a motor 
  2.36  vehicle registered under section 168.187. 
  3.1      (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
  3.2   subdivision, number plates issued to a vehicle which is used for 
  3.3   behind-the-wheel instruction in a driver education course in a 
  3.4   public school may be transferred to another vehicle used for the 
  3.5   same purpose without payment of any additional fee.  The 
  3.6   registrar shall be notified of each transfer of number plates 
  3.7   under this paragraph and may prescribe a form for notification. 
  3.8      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 168.123, 
  3.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.10     Subd. 2.  [DESIGN.] The commissioner of veterans affairs 
  3.11  shall design the special plates, subject to the approval of the 
  3.12  registrar, that satisfy the following requirements:  
  3.13     (a) For a Vietnam veteran who served after July 1, 1961, 
  3.14  and before July 1, 1978, the special plates must bear the 
  3.15  inscription "VIETNAM VET" and the letters "V" and "V" with the 
  3.16  first letter directly above the second letter and both letters 
  3.17  just preceding the first numeral of the special license plate 
  3.18  number. 
  3.19     (b) For a veteran stationed on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, 
  3.20  or offshore, during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 
  3.21  1941, the special plates must bear the inscription "PEARL HARBOR 
  3.22  SURVIVOR" and the letters "P" and "H" with the first letter 
  3.23  directly above the second letter and both letters just preceding 
  3.24  the first numeral of the special license plate number. 
  3.25     (c) For a veteran who served during World War I or World 
  3.26  War II, the special plates must bear the inscription "WORLD WAR 
  3.27  VET" and: 
  3.28     (1) for a World War I veteran, the characters "W" and "I" 
  3.29  with the first character directly above the second character and 
  3.30  both characters just preceding the first numeral of the special 
  3.31  license plate number; or 
  3.32     (2) for a World War II veteran, the characters "W" and "II" 
  3.33  with the first character directly above the second character and 
  3.34  both characters just preceding the first numeral of the special 
  3.35  license plate number. 
  3.36     (d) For a veteran who served during the Korean Conflict, 
  4.1   the special plates must bear the inscription "KOREAN VET" and 
  4.2   the letters "K" and "V" with the first letter directly above the 
  4.3   second letter and both letters just preceding the first numeral 
  4.4   of the special license plate number.  
  4.5      (e) For a combat wounded veteran who is a recipient of the 
  4.6   purple heart medal, the special plates must bear the inscription 
  4.7   "COMBAT WOUNDED VET" and inscribed with a facsimile of the 
  4.8   official purple heart medal and the letters "c" over "w" with 
  4.9   the first letter directly over the second letter just preceding 
  4.10  the first numeral of the special license plate number. 
  4.11     (f) For a Persian Gulf war veteran, the special plates must 
  4.12  bear the inscription "GULF WAR VET" and the letters "G" and "W" 
  4.13  with the first letter directly above the second letter and both 
  4.14  letters just preceding the first numeral of the special license 
  4.15  plate number.  For the purposes of this section, "Persian Gulf 
  4.16  war veteran" means a person who served on active duty after 
  4.17  August 1, 1990, in a branch of the armed forces of the United 
  4.18  States or United Nations during Operation Desert Shield, 
  4.19  Operation Desert Storm, or other military operation in the 
  4.20  Persian Gulf area combat zone as designated in United States 
  4.21  Presidential Executive Order No. 12744, dated January 21, 1991. 
  4.22     (g) For a veteran who served in the Laos War after July 1, 
  4.23  1961, and before July 1, 1978, the special plates must bear the 
  4.24  inscription "LAOS WAR VET" and the letters "L" and "V" with the 
  4.25  first letter directly above the second letter and both letters 
  4.26  just preceding the first numeral of the special license plate 
  4.27  number. 
  4.28     (h) For a veteran who, while a member of a branch of the 
  4.29  armed forces of the United States, served on active duty in the 
  4.30  United States military action in Grenada, the special plates 
  4.31  must bear the inscription "GRENADA VET" and the letters "G" and 
  4.32  "V" with the first letter directly above the second letter and 
  4.33  both letters preceding the first numeral of the special license 
  4.34  plate number. 
  4.35     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 168.1291, 
  4.36  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.1      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] For purposes of this section 
  5.2   "special license plates" means license plates issued under 
  5.3   sections 168.12, subdivisions 2b to and 2e; 168.123; 168.1235; 
  5.4   and 168.129.