1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to transportation; requiring work zone safety and work zone driving rules 
1.3 	as driver education and driver examination subjects; requiring the driver's manual 
1.4 	to include work zone safety information; authorizing rulemaking; appropriating 
1.5 	money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 171.01, by adding a 
1.6 	subdivision; 171.0701, by adding a subdivision; 171.0705, by adding a subdivision; 
1.7 	171.13, subdivision 1.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 171.01, is amended by adding a subdivision 
1.10 	to read:
1.11 		Subd. 52.Work zone. "Work zone" has the meaning given in section 169.011, 
1.12 	subdivision 95.

1.13 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 171.0701, is amended by adding a subdivision 
1.14 	to read:
1.15 		Subd. 1c.Driver education; work zone safety. The commissioner must adopt rules for 
1.16 	persons enrolled in driver education programs offered at public schools, private schools, 
1.17 	and commercial driver training schools to require inclusion of a section on work zone and 
1.18 	road construction worker safety in the course of instruction.  The instruction must include 
1.19 	information on:
1.20 	(1) safe speeds in work zones, including speeds when workers are present;
1.21 	(2) the specific duties of a driver when encountering, entering, traveling through, and 
1.22 	exiting a work zone;
1.23 	(3) the dangers of distracted driving through work zones;
2.1 	(4) the legal markings of a work zone, including flagging, traffic control devices, barrels, 
2.2 	lights, or other signage that indicate the segment of street or highway under construction, 
2.3 	reconstruction, or maintenance; and
2.4 	(5) safely merging into travel lanes when a lane is closed due to construction, 
2.5 	reconstruction, or maintenance.

2.6 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2026.

2.7 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 171.0705, is amended by adding a subdivision 
2.8 	to read:
2.9 		Subd. 2a.Driver's manual; work zone safety. The commissioner must include in each 
2.10 	edition of the driver's manual published by the department a section relating to work zone 
2.11 	safety and road construction worker safety that, at a minimum, includes:
2.12 	(1) traffic laws related to work zone safety, including work zone speed limits and the 
2.13 	surcharge imposed for a person convicted of speeding in a work zone;
2.14 	(2) commonly used work zone markings and traffic control devices;
2.15 	(3) traffic laws related to distracted driving, with an emphasis on the dangers of distracted 
2.16 	driving in work zones; and
2.17 	(4) lane merger benefits and best practices, including information on motorists safely 
2.18 	merging from two lanes into a single lane of traffic when a lane is closed due to construction, 
2.19 	reconstruction, or maintenance.

2.20 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment and 
2.21 	applies to the next published edition of the driver's manual published on or after that date.

2.22 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 171.13, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.23 		Subdivision 1.Examination subjects and locations; provisions for color blindness, 
2.24 	disabled veterans. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the commissioner must 
2.25 	examine each applicant for a driver's license by such agency as the commissioner directs. 
2.26 	This examination must include:
2.27 	(1) a test of the applicant's eyesight, provided that this requirement is met by submission 
2.28 	of a vision examination certificate under section 171.06, subdivision 7;
2.29 	(2) a test of the applicant's ability to read and understand highway signs regulating, 
2.30 	warning, and directing traffic;
3.1 	(3) a test of the applicant's knowledge of:
3.2 	(i) traffic laws;
3.3 	(ii) the effects of alcohol and drugs on a driver's ability to operate a motor vehicle safely 
3.4 	and legally, and of the legal penalties and financial consequences resulting from violations 
3.5 	of laws prohibiting the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol 
3.6 	or drugs;
3.7 	(iii) railroad grade crossing safety;
3.8 	(iv) slow-moving vehicle safety;
3.9 	(v) laws relating to pupil transportation safety, including the significance of school bus 
3.10 	lights, signals, stop arm, and passing a school bus;
3.11 	(vi) traffic laws related to bicycles; and
3.12 	(vii) the circumstances and dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning; and
3.13 	(viii) work zone and road construction worker safety, including work zone speed limits, 
3.14 	work zone markings, vehicle operation requirements in work zones, and the dangers of 
3.15 	distracted driving in work zones;
3.16 	(4) an actual demonstration of ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the 
3.17 	operation of a motor vehicle; and
3.18 	(5) other physical and mental examinations as the commissioner finds necessary to 
3.19 	determine the applicant's fitness to operate a motor vehicle safely upon the highways.
3.20 	(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner must not deny an application for 
3.21 	a driver's license based on the exclusive grounds that the applicant's eyesight is deficient in 
3.22 	color perception or that the applicant has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. War veterans 
3.23 	operating motor vehicles especially equipped for disabled persons, if otherwise entitled to 
3.24 	a license, must be granted such license.
3.25 	(c) The commissioner must ensure that an applicant may take an exam either in the 
3.26 	county where the applicant resides or in an adjacent county at a reasonably convenient 
3.27 	location. The schedule for each exam station must be posted on the department's website.
3.28 	(d) The commissioner shall must ensure that an applicant is able to obtain an appointment 
3.29 	for an examination to demonstrate ability under paragraph (a), clause (4), within 14 days 
3.30 	of the applicant's request if, under the applicable statutes and rules of the commissioner, 
3.31 	the applicant is eligible to take the examination.
4.1 	(e) The commissioner must provide real-time information on the department's website 
4.2 	about the availability and location of exam appointments. The website must show the next 
4.3 	available exam dates and times for each exam station. The website must also provide an 
4.4 	option for a person to enter an address to see the date and time of the next available exam 
4.5 	at each exam station sorted by distance from the address provided.

4.6 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2027, and applies to 
4.7 	examinations administered on or after that date.

4.8 	Sec. 5. APPROPRIATION.
 4.9 	$....... in fiscal year 2026 is appropriated from the driver and vehicle services operating 
4.10 	account in the special revenue fund to the commissioner of public safety for costs related 
4.11 	to:
4.12 	(1) rulemaking to implement the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 171.0701, 
4.13 	subdivision 1c; and
4.14 	(2) incorporating work zone safety information into the driver's manual and written 
4.15 	examination for a driver's license under Minnesota Statutes, sections 171.0705, subdivision 
4.16 	2a, and 171.13, subdivision 1.
4.17 	This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2027.