1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to vehicle insurance; requiring the
1.3 	commissioner of public safety to discontinue insurance
1.4 	verification sampling program until the commissioner
1.5 	modifies program; declaring charges for violations of
1.6 	sampling program laws to be void; providing
1.7 	remediation; reinstating certain drivers' licenses;
1.8 	requiring report; authorizing resumption of sampling
1.9 	program; appropriating money.
1.10 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.11 	Section 1. SUSPENSION OF PROGRAM TO VERIFY INSURANCE
1.12 	COVERAGE THROUGH SAMPLING.
 1.13 	The commissioner of public safety shall take no action
1.14 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3, and
1.15 	shall discontinue all activities related to the program to
1.16 	verify insurance coverage through sampling, except as provided
1.17 	in sections 2 to 9.

1.18 	Sec. 2. REINSTATEMENT OF SUSPENDED LICENSES.
 1.19 	The commissioner, without requiring proof of insurance or
1.20 	payment of a reinstatement fee, shall reinstate the driver's
1.21 	license of every vehicle owner whose license is suspended under
1.22 	Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3, retroactive
1.23 	to the date of the suspension.  The commissioner shall promptly
1.24 	refund any such reinstatement fees previously paid.

1.25 	Sec. 3. DISMISSAL OF CHARGES.
 1.26 	All charges, complaints, and citations issued for a
1.27 	violation of Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3,
2.1 	or a related violation, including driving after a license
2.2 	suspension imposed for failure to comply with the provisions of
2.3 	Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3, are void and
2.4 	must be dismissed.

2.5 	Sec. 4. REMOVAL OF PREVIOUS VIOLATIONS.
 2.6 	The commissioner shall purge from a person's driving record
2.7 	any notation of a violation of Minnesota Statutes, section
2.8 	169.796, subdivision 3, and any notation of a related suspension
2.9 	or violation, including driving after a license suspension
2.10 	imposed for failure to comply with the provisions of Minnesota
2.11 	Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3.  An insurer may not
2.12 	increase a premium for a policy of vehicle insurance on the
2.13 	basis of a violation described in this section by a named
2.14 	insured if the violation occurred before the effective date of
2.15 	this act, and any such increase previously imposed must be
2.16 	rescinded and any related premium increase promptly refunded.

2.17 	Sec. 5. REMEDIATION FOR CONVICTIONS.
 2.18 	(a) A court in which a conviction for an offense referred
2.19 	to in section 3 occurred, must vacate the conviction, on its own
2.20 	motion, without cost to the person convicted, and must
2.21 	immediately notify the person that the conviction has been
2.22 	vacated.
2.23 	(b) The commissioner of finance, in consultation with the
2.24 	Supreme Court administrator, shall develop and implement a
2.25 	procedure to refund to the licensee any fine paid by the
2.26 	licensee for a conviction vacated under paragraph (a), without
2.27 	requiring that the licensee request the refund.  The procedure
2.28 	may require recovery of portions of the fines that have been
2.29 	allocated by law to local government units.

2.30 	Sec. 6. REMEDIATION BY INSURERS.
 2.31 	(a) Insurers that issue or renew motor vehicle insurance in
2.32 	this state shall, within 60 days after the effective date of
2.33 	this section, inform the commissioner of commerce as to whether
2.34 	it has canceled, failed to renew, denied an application for
2.35 	coverage, or imposed a surcharge on any motor vehicle insurance
2.36 	due to a suspension or conviction as a result of the law
3.1 	referenced in section 1, provide a list of any such persons, and
3.2 	indicate for each person the remediation the insurer intends to
3.3 	provide.
3.4 	(b) Remediation under paragraph (a) must compensate the
3.5 	victim by providing refunds and reinstatements of coverage.
3.6 	(c) Insurers shall provide the remediation without
3.7 	requiring that the person make a request for remediation.
3.8 	(d) The commissioner of commerce shall enforce this section
3.9 	under its general enforcement powers under Minnesota Statutes,
3.10 	chapter 45.

3.11 	Sec. 7. PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING.
 3.12 	The commissioner of public safety shall use funds
3.13 	appropriated for purposes of the law referenced in section 1 and
3.14 	not yet spent for that purpose to accomplish the remediation
3.15 	required under this act.  The funds that are unspent at the end
3.16 	of the 2005 fiscal year may be carried forward into the next
3.17 	biennium if necessary to complete the remediation.

3.18 	Sec. 8. REPORT.
 3.19 	The commissioner shall report to the chairs of the senate
3.20 	and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over
3.21 	transportation policy no later than March 15, 2006, concerning
3.22 	the program of sampling to verify insurance coverage.  The
3.23 	report must:
3.24 	(1) identify the measures that the commissioner will
3.25 	implement to ensure that the commissioner's request to furnish
3.26 	insurance information is delivered to the addressee;
3.27 	(2) describe proposed modifications to the request form and
3.28 	the envelope that will call attention to the urgency of the
3.29 	request and the need for a prompt reply;
3.30 	(3) propose changes to the program to ensure that a vehicle
3.31 	owner will receive actual notice of the commissioner's intent to
3.32 	suspend the owner's driver's license, and that actual notice
3.33 	will be given with adequate time and opportunity for the owner
3.34 	to respond and avoid the suspension; and 
3.35 	(4) identify any changes in statute necessary to allow the
3.36 	commissioner to implement the recommended changes.

4.1 	Sec. 9. TESTING AND RESUMPTION OF SAMPLING PROGRAM.
 4.2 	On or after June 10, 2006, the commissioner shall implement
4.3 	the sampling program under Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796,
4.4 	subdivision 3, as modified according to the report in section
4.5 	8.  On or after March 22, 2006, the commissioner may request
4.6 	verification of insurance coverage from vehicle owners under
4.7 	Minnesota Statutes, section 169.796, subdivision 3,
4.8 	incorporating the modifications proposed in the report, but the
4.9 	commissioner may not suspend driver's licenses under this
4.10 	subdivision or impose any other penalties before the full
4.11 	resumption of the sampling program on or after June 10, 2006.

4.12 	Sec. 10. APPROPRIATION.
 4.13 	$....... is appropriated from the general fund to the
4.14 	commissioner of finance for fiscal year 2005 for the purpose of
4.15 	making the refunds of fines required under this act.  Any
4.16 	amounts not expended for that purpose in fiscal year 2005 may be
4.17 	carried forward to the following biennium for that purpose if
4.18 	necessary.

4.19 	Sec. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 4.20 	Sections 1 to 10 are effective the day following final
4.21 	enactment and expire on June 10, 2006.