1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to highways; modifying provisions governing 
  1.3             gross vehicle weights on interstate highways; 
  1.4             providing for vehicles and vehicle combinations 
  1.5             weighing up to 88,000 pounds to travel on nine-ton 
  1.6             roads in winter; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.7             sections 168.013, subdivision 3; 169.826, subdivision 
  1.8             1, by adding a subdivision; 169.85, subdivision 2; 
  1.9             169.86, subdivision 5. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 168.013, 
  1.12  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION; CANCELLATION; EXCESSIVE GROSS 
  1.14  WEIGHT FORBIDDEN.] (a) The applicant for all licenses based on 
  1.15  gross weight shall state the unloaded weight of the motor 
  1.16  vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer and the maximum load the 
  1.17  applicant proposes to carry on it, the sum of which constitutes 
  1.18  the gross weight upon which the license tax must be paid.  
  1.19  However, the declared gross weight upon which the tax is paid 
  1.20  must not be less than 1-1/4 times the declared unloaded weight 
  1.21  of the motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer to be registered, 
  1.22  except recreational vehicles taxed under subdivision 1g, school 
  1.23  buses taxed under subdivision 18, and tow trucks or towing 
  1.24  vehicles defined in section 169.01, subdivision 52.  The gross 
  1.25  weight of a tow truck or towing vehicle is the actual weight of 
  1.26  the tow truck or towing vehicle fully equipped, but does not 
  1.27  include the weight of a wrecked or disabled vehicle towed or 
  2.1   drawn by the tow truck or towing vehicle. 
  2.2      (b) The gross weight of a motor vehicle, trailer, or 
  2.3   semitrailer must not exceed the gross weight upon which the 
  2.4   license tax has been paid by more than four percent or 1,000 
  2.5   pounds, whichever is greater; 
  2.6   provided that, a vehicle transporting unfinished forest products 
  2.7   on a highway, other than a highway that is part of the system of 
  2.8   interstate and defense highways, in accordance with paragraph 
  2.9   (d)(3): 
  2.10     (1) shall not exceed its gross vehicle weight upon which 
  2.11  the license tax has been paid, or gross axle weight on any axle, 
  2.12  by more than five percent and, notwithstanding other law to the 
  2.13  contrary, is not subject to any fee, fine, or other assessment 
  2.14  or penalty for exceeding a gross vehicle or axle weight by up to 
  2.15  five percent; and 
  2.16     (2) between the dates set by the commissioner in accordance 
  2.17  with section 169.826, subdivision 1, is not subject to any 
  2.18  provision of paragraph (d) or chapter 169 limiting the gross 
  2.19  axle weight of any individual axle unless the entire vehicle 
  2.20  also exceeds its gross vehicle weight plus its weight allowance 
  2.21  allowed in clause (1) and plus any weight allowance permitted 
  2.22  under section 169.826, in which case the vehicle is subject to 
  2.23  all applicable penalties for excess weight violations. 
  2.24     (c) The gross weight of the motor vehicle, trailer, or 
  2.25  semitrailer for which the license tax is paid must be indicated 
  2.26  by a distinctive character on the license plate or plates except 
  2.27  as provided in subdivision 12 and the plate or plates must be 
  2.28  kept clean and clearly visible at all times. 
  2.29     (d) The owner, driver, or user of a motor vehicle, trailer, 
  2.30  or semitrailer, upon conviction for transporting a gross weight 
  2.31  in excess of the gross weight for which it was registered or for 
  2.32  operating a vehicle with an axle weight exceeding the maximum 
  2.33  lawful axle load weight, is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject 
  2.34  to increased registration or reregistration according to the 
  2.35  following schedule: 
  2.36     (1) Upon conviction for transporting a gross weight in 
  3.1   excess of the gross weight for which a motor vehicle, trailer, 
  3.2   or semitrailer is registered by more than the allowance set 
  3.3   forth in paragraph (b) but less than 25 percent, or for 
  3.4   operating or using a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer with 
  3.5   an axle weight exceeding the maximum lawful axle load as 
  3.6   provided in sections 169.822 to 169.829 by more than the 
  3.7   allowance set forth in paragraph (b) but less than 25 percent, 
  3.8   the owner, driver, or user of the motor vehicle, trailer, or 
  3.9   semitrailer used to commit the violation, in addition to any 
  3.10  penalty imposed for the misdemeanor, shall apply to the 
  3.11  registrar to increase the authorized gross weight to be carried 
  3.12  on the vehicle to a weight equal to or greater than the gross 
  3.13  weight the owner, driver, or user was convicted of carrying.  
  3.14  The increase is computed for the balance of the calendar year on 
  3.15  the basis of 1/12 of the annual tax for each month remaining in 
  3.16  the calendar year beginning with the first day of the month in 
  3.17  which the violation occurred.  If the additional registration 
  3.18  tax computed upon that weight, plus the tax already paid, 
  3.19  amounts to more than the regular tax for the maximum gross 
  3.20  weight permitted for the vehicle under sections 169.822 to 
  3.21  169.829, that additional amount must nevertheless be paid into 
  3.22  the highway fund, but the additional tax thus paid does not 
  3.23  authorize or permit any person to operate the vehicle with a 
  3.24  gross weight in excess of the maximum legal weight as provided 
  3.25  by sections 169.822 to 169.829.  Unless the owner within 30 days 
  3.26  after a conviction applies to increase the authorized weight and 
  3.27  pays the additional tax as provided in this section, the 
  3.28  registrar shall revoke the registration on the vehicle and 
  3.29  demand the return of the registration card and plates issued on 
  3.30  that registration. 
  3.31     (2) Upon conviction of an owner, driver, or user of a motor 
  3.32  vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer for transporting a gross weight 
  3.33  in excess of the gross weight for which the motor vehicle, 
  3.34  trailer, or semitrailer was registered by 25 percent or more or 
  3.35  for operating or using the vehicle or trailer with an axle 
  3.36  weight exceeding the maximum lawful axle load as provided in 
  4.1   sections 169.822 to 169.829 by 25 percent or more, and in 
  4.2   addition to any penalty imposed for the misdemeanor, the 
  4.3   registrar shall either (i) cancel the reciprocity privileges on 
  4.4   the vehicle involved if the vehicle is being operated under 
  4.5   reciprocity or (ii) if the vehicle is not being operated under 
  4.6   reciprocity, cancel the certificate of registration on the 
  4.7   vehicle operated and demand the return of the registration 
  4.8   certificate and registration plates.  The registrar may not 
  4.9   cancel the registration or reciprocity privileges for any 
  4.10  vehicle found in violation of seasonal load restrictions imposed 
  4.11  under section 169.87 unless the axle weight exceeds the 
  4.12  year-round weight limit for the highway on which the violation 
  4.13  occurred.  The registrar may investigate any allegation of gross 
  4.14  weight violations and demand that the operator show cause why 
  4.15  all future operating privileges in the state should not be 
  4.16  revoked unless the additional tax assessed is paid. 
  4.17     (3) Clause (1) does not apply to the first haul of 
  4.18  unprocessed or raw farm products or unfinished forest products, 
  4.19  when the registered gross weight is not exceeded by more than 
  4.20  ten percent.  For purposes of this clause, "first haul" means 
  4.21  (i) the first, continuous transportation of unprocessed or raw 
  4.22  farm products from the place of production or on-farm storage 
  4.23  site to any other location within 50 miles of the place of 
  4.24  production or on-farm storage site, or (ii) the continuous or 
  4.25  noncontinuous transportation of unfinished forest products from 
  4.26  the place of production to the place of final processing or 
  4.27  manufacture located within 200 miles of the place of production. 
  4.28     (4) When the registration on a motor vehicle, trailer, or 
  4.29  semitrailer is revoked by the registrar according to this 
  4.30  section, the vehicle must not be operated on the highways of the 
  4.31  state until it is registered or reregistered, as the case may 
  4.32  be, and new plates issued, and the registration fee is the 
  4.33  annual tax for the total gross weight of the vehicle at the time 
  4.34  of violation.  The reregistration pursuant to this subdivision 
  4.35  of any vehicle operating under reciprocity agreements pursuant 
  4.36  to section 168.181 or 168.187 must be at the full annual 
  5.1   registration fee without regard to the percentage of vehicle 
  5.2   miles traveled in this state. 
  5.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.826, 
  5.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.5      Subdivision 1.  [WINTER INCREASE AMOUNTS.] The limitations 
  5.6   provided in sections 169.822 to 169.829 are increased:  
  5.7      (1) by ten percent between the dates set by the 
  5.8   commissioner for each zone established by the commissioner based 
  5.9   on a freezing index model each winter, statewide;. 
  5.10     (2) by ten percent between the dates set by the 
  5.11  commissioner based on a freezing index model each winter, in the 
  5.12  zone bounded as follows:  beginning at Pigeon River in the 
  5.13  northeast corner of Minnesota; thence in a southwesterly 
  5.14  direction along the north shore of Lake Superior to the 
  5.15  northeastern city limits of Duluth; thence along the eastern and 
  5.16  southern city limits of Duluth to the junction with trunk 
  5.17  highway No. 210; thence westerly along trunk highway No. 210 to 
  5.18  the junction with trunk highway No. 10; thence northwesterly 
  5.19  along trunk highway No. 10 to the Minnesota-North Dakota border; 
  5.20  thence northerly along that border to the Minnesota-Canadian 
  5.21  Border; thence easterly along said Border to Lake Superior; and 
  5.22     (3) Subd. 1a.  [HARVEST SEASON INCREASE AMOUNT.] The 
  5.23  limitations provided in sections 169.822 to 169.829 are 
  5.24  increased by ten percent from the beginning of harvest to 
  5.25  November 30 each year for the movement of sugar beets, carrots, 
  5.26  and potatoes from the field of harvest to the point of the first 
  5.27  unloading.  Transfer of the product from a farm vehicle or small 
  5.28  farm trailer, within the meaning of chapter 168, to another 
  5.29  vehicle is not considered to be the first unloading.  The 
  5.30  commissioner shall not issue permits under this clause 
  5.31  subdivision if to do so will result in a loss of federal highway 
  5.32  funding to the state. 
  5.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.826, is 
  5.34  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.35     Subd. 1b.  [NINE-TON COUNTY ROADS.] Despite the provisions 
  5.36  of subdivision 5 and sections 169.824, subdivision 2, paragraph 
  6.1   (a), clause (2), and 169.832, subdivision 11, a vehicle or 
  6.2   combination of vehicles with a gross vehicle weight up to 88,000 
  6.3   pounds may be operated on a nine-ton county road, consistent 
  6.4   with the increases allowed for vehicles operating on a ten-ton 
  6.5   road, during the time when the increases under subdivision 1 are 
  6.6   in effect in that zone. 
  6.7      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.85, 
  6.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  6.9      Subd. 2.  [UNLOADING.] (a) Upon weighing a vehicle and 
  6.10  load, as provided in this section, an officer may require the 
  6.11  driver to stop the vehicle in a suitable place and remain 
  6.12  standing until a portion of the load is removed that is 
  6.13  sufficient to reduce the gross weight of the vehicle to the 
  6.14  limit permitted under either section 168.013, subdivision 3, 
  6.15  paragraph (b), or sections 169.822 to 169.829, whichever is the 
  6.16  lesser violation, if any.  A suitable place is a location where 
  6.17  loading or tampering with the load is not prohibited by federal, 
  6.18  state, or local law, rule, or ordinance.  
  6.19     (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), a driver may be 
  6.20  required to unload a vehicle only if the weighing officer 
  6.21  determines that (1) on routes subject to the provisions of 
  6.22  sections 169.822 to 169.829, the weight on an axle exceeds the 
  6.23  lawful gross weight prescribed by sections 169.822 to 169.829, 
  6.24  by 2,000 pounds or more, or the weight on a group of two or more 
  6.25  consecutive axles in cases where the distance between the 
  6.26  centers of the first and last axles of the group under 
  6.27  consideration is ten feet or less exceeds the lawful gross 
  6.28  weight prescribed by sections 169.822 to 169.829, by 4,000 
  6.29  pounds or more; or (2) on routes designated by the commissioner 
  6.30  in section 169.832, subdivision 11, the overall weight of the 
  6.31  vehicle or the weight on an axle or group of consecutive axles 
  6.32  exceeds the maximum lawful gross weights prescribed by sections 
  6.33  169.822 to 169.829; or (3) the weight is unlawful on an axle or 
  6.34  group of consecutive axles on a road restricted in accordance 
  6.35  with section 169.87.  Material unloaded must be cared for by the 
  6.36  owner or driver of the vehicle at the risk of the owner or 
  7.1   driver. 
  7.2      (c) If the gross weight of the vehicle does not exceed the 
  7.3   vehicle's registered gross weight plus the weight allowance set 
  7.4   forth in section 168.013, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), and 
  7.5   plus, if applicable, the weight allowance permitted under 
  7.6   section 169.826, then the driver is not required to unload under 
  7.7   paragraph (b). 
  7.8      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 169.86, 
  7.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  7.10     Subd. 5.  [FEE; PROCEEDS TO TRUNK HIGHWAY FUND.] The 
  7.11  commissioner, with respect to highways under the commissioner's 
  7.12  jurisdiction, may charge a fee for each permit issued.  All such 
  7.13  fees for permits issued by the commissioner of transportation 
  7.14  shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the 
  7.15  trunk highway fund.  Except for those annual permits for which 
  7.16  the permit fees are specified elsewhere in this chapter, the 
  7.17  fees shall be: 
  7.18     (a) $15 for each single trip permit. 
  7.19     (b) $36 for each job permit.  A job permit may be issued 
  7.20  for like loads carried on a specific route for a period not to 
  7.21  exceed two months.  "Like loads" means loads of the same 
  7.22  product, weight, and dimension. 
  7.23     (c) $60 for an annual permit to be issued for a period not 
  7.24  to exceed 12 consecutive months.  Annual permits may be issued 
  7.25  for: 
  7.26     (1) motor vehicles used to alleviate a temporary crisis 
  7.27  adversely affecting the safety or well-being of the public; 
  7.28     (2) motor vehicles which travel on interstate highways and 
  7.29  carry loads authorized under subdivision 1a; 
  7.30     (3) motor vehicles operating with gross weights authorized 
  7.31  under section 169.826, subdivision 1, clause (3) 1a; 
  7.32     (4) special pulpwood vehicles described in section 169.863; 
  7.33     (5) motor vehicles bearing snowplow blades not exceeding 
  7.34  ten feet in width; and 
  7.35     (6) noncommercial transportation of a boat by the owner or 
  7.36  user of the boat. 
  8.1      (d) $120 for an oversize annual permit to be issued for a 
  8.2   period not to exceed 12 consecutive months.  Annual permits may 
  8.3   be issued for:  
  8.4      (1) mobile cranes; 
  8.5      (2) construction equipment, machinery, and supplies; 
  8.6      (3) manufactured homes; 
  8.7      (4) implements of husbandry when the movement is not made 
  8.8   according to the provisions of paragraph (i); 
  8.9      (5) double-deck buses; 
  8.10     (6) commercial boat hauling.  
  8.11     (e) For vehicles which have axle weights exceeding the 
  8.12  weight limitations of sections 169.822 to 169.829, an additional 
  8.13  cost added to the fees listed above.  However, this paragraph 
  8.14  applies to any vehicle described in section 168.013, subdivision 
  8.15  3, paragraph (b), but only when the vehicle exceeds its gross 
  8.16  weight allowance set forth in that paragraph, and then the 
  8.17  additional cost is for all weight, including the allowance 
  8.18  weight, in excess of the permitted maximum axle weight.  The 
  8.19  additional cost is equal to the product of the distance traveled 
  8.20  times the sum of the overweight axle group cost factors shown in 
  8.21  the following chart:  
  8.22                 Overweight Axle Group Cost Factors 
  8.23  Weight (pounds)         Cost Per Mile For Each Group Of:
  8.24  exceeding       Two consec-     Three consec-   Four consec-
  8.25  weight          utive axles     utive axles     utive axles
  8.26  limitations     spaced within   spaced within   spaced within
  8.27  on axles        8 feet or less  9 feet or less  14 feet or less 
  8.28       0-2,000    .12             .05             .04
  8.29   2,001-4,000    .14             .06             .05
  8.30   4,001-6,000    .18             .07             .06
  8.31   6,001-8,000    .21             .09             .07
  8.32   8,001-10,000   .26             .10             .08
  8.33  10,001-12,000   .30             .12             .09
  8.34  12,001-14,000   Not permitted   .14             .11
  8.35  14,001-16,000   Not permitted   .17             .12
  8.36  16,001-18,000   Not permitted   .19             .15
  9.1   18,001-20,000   Not permitted   Not permitted   .16
  9.2   20,001-22,000   Not permitted   Not permitted   .20
  9.3   The amounts added are rounded to the nearest cent for each axle 
  9.4   or axle group.  The additional cost does not apply to paragraph 
  9.5   (c), clauses (1) and (3).  
  9.6   For a vehicle found to exceed the appropriate maximum permitted 
  9.7   weight, a cost-per-mile fee of 22 cents per ton, or fraction of 
  9.8   a ton, over the permitted maximum weight is imposed in addition 
  9.9   to the normal permit fee.  Miles must be calculated based on the 
  9.10  distance already traveled in the state plus the distance from 
  9.11  the point of detection to a transportation loading site or 
  9.12  unloading site within the state or to the point of exit from the 
  9.13  state. 
  9.14     (f) As an alternative to paragraph (e), an annual permit 
  9.15  may be issued for overweight, or oversize and overweight, 
  9.16  construction equipment, machinery, and supplies.  The fees for 
  9.17  the permit are as follows:  
  9.18  Gross Weight (pounds) of Vehicle          Annual Permit Fee
  9.19       90,000 or less                             $200
  9.20       90,001 - 100,000                           $300
  9.21      100,001 - 110,000                           $400
  9.22      110,001 - 120,000                           $500
  9.23      120,001 - 130,000                           $600
  9.24      130,001 - 140,000                           $700
  9.25      140,001 - 145,000                           $800
  9.26  If the gross weight of the vehicle is more than 145,000 pounds 
  9.27  the permit fee is determined under paragraph (e). 
  9.28     (g) For vehicles which exceed the width limitations set 
  9.29  forth in section 169.80 by more than 72 inches, an additional 
  9.30  cost equal to $120 added to the amount in paragraph (a) when the 
  9.31  permit is issued while seasonal load restrictions pursuant to 
  9.32  section 169.87 are in effect. 
  9.33     (h) $85 for an annual permit to be issued for a period not 
  9.34  to exceed 12 months, for refuse-compactor vehicles that carry a 
  9.35  gross weight of not more than:  22,000 pounds on a single rear 
  9.36  axle; 38,000 pounds on a tandem rear axle; or, subject to 
 10.1   section 169.828, subdivision 2, 46,000 pounds on a tridem rear 
 10.2   axle.  A permit issued for up to 46,000 pounds on a tridem rear 
 10.3   axle must limit the gross vehicle weight to not more than 62,000 
 10.4   pounds. 
 10.5      (i) For vehicles exclusively transporting implements of 
 10.6   husbandry, an annual permit fee of $24.  A vehicle operated 
 10.7   under a permit authorized by this paragraph may be moved at the 
 10.8   discretion of the permit holder without prior route approval by 
 10.9   the commissioner if: 
 10.10     (1) the total width of the transporting vehicle, including 
 10.11  load, does not exceed 14 feet; 
 10.12     (2) the vehicle is operated only between sunrise and 30 
 10.13  minutes after sunset, and is not operated at any time after 
 10.14  12:00 noon on Sundays or holidays; 
 10.15     (3) the vehicle is not operated when visibility is impaired 
 10.16  by weather, fog, or other conditions that render persons and 
 10.17  other vehicles not clearly visible at 500 feet; 
 10.18     (4) the vehicle displays at the front and rear of the load 
 10.19  or vehicle a pair of flashing amber lights, as provided in 
 10.20  section 169.59, subdivision 4, whenever the overall width of the 
 10.21  vehicle exceeds 126 inches; and 
 10.22     (5) the vehicle is not operated on a trunk highway with a 
 10.23  surfaced roadway width of less than 24 feet unless such 
 10.24  operation is authorized by the permit. 
 10.25  A permit under this paragraph authorizes movements of the 
 10.26  permitted vehicle on an interstate highway, and movements of 75 
 10.27  miles or more on other highways.