HF 2408

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to motor vehicles; establishing automobile 
  1.3             theft prevention program and creating board; 
  1.4             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 168A. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [168A.40] [AUTOMOBILE THEFT PREVENTION 
  1.8   PROGRAM.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [BOARD MEMBERSHIP.] An automobile theft 
  1.10  prevention board consists of seven members appointed by the 
  1.11  governor and shall include representatives of law enforcement, 
  1.12  prosecuting attorneys, the department of public safety, 
  1.13  automobile insurers, and the public.  The board shall annually 
  1.14  elect a chair from among its members.  The board may employ 
  1.15  professional, technical, consulting, and clerical service 
  1.16  staff.  The board is governed by section 15.0575 except that the 
  1.17  terms of the members are two years.  The commissioner of public 
  1.18  safety shall provide office space and administrative support to 
  1.19  the board. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [PROGRAM DUTIES.] The automobile theft prevention 
  1.21  board shall: 
  1.22     (1) develop and sponsor the implementation of statewide 
  1.23  plans, programs, and strategies to combat automobile theft, 
  1.24  improve the administration of the automobile theft laws, and 
  1.25  provide a forum for identification of critical problems for 
  2.1   those persons dealing with automobile theft; 
  2.2      (2) coordinate the development, adoption, and 
  2.3   implementation of plans, programs, and strategies relating to 
  2.4   interagency and intergovernmental cooperation with respect to 
  2.5   automobile theft enforcement; 
  2.6      (3) audit at its own discretion the plans and programs that 
  2.7   it has funded in whole or in part in order to evaluate the 
  2.8   effectiveness of the plans and programs, and withdraw funding 
  2.9   should the authority determine that a plan or program is 
  2.10  ineffective or is no longer in need of further financial support 
  2.11  from the fund; 
  2.12     (4) develop a plan of operation including an assessment of 
  2.13  the scope of the problem of automobile theft, including areas of 
  2.14  the state where the problem is greatest; an analysis of various 
  2.15  methods of combating the problem of automobile theft; a plan for 
  2.16  providing financial support to combat automobile theft; a plan 
  2.17  for eliminating car hijacking; and an estimate of the funds 
  2.18  required to implement the plan; and 
  2.19     (5) distribute money from the automobile theft prevention 
  2.20  account for automobile theft prevention activities, including: 
  2.21     (i) paying the administrative costs of the board; 
  2.22     (ii) providing financial support to the state patrol and 
  2.23  local law enforcement agencies for automobile theft enforcement 
  2.24  teams; 
  2.25     (iii) providing financial support to state or local law 
  2.26  enforcement agencies for programs designed to reduce the 
  2.27  incidence of automobile theft; 
  2.28     (iv) providing financial support to local prosecutors for 
  2.29  programs designed to reduce the incidence of automobile theft; 
  2.30     (v) providing financial support to judicial agencies for 
  2.31  programs designed to reduce the incidence of automobile theft; 
  2.32     (vi) providing financial support for neighborhood or 
  2.33  community organizations or business organizations for programs 
  2.34  designed to reduce the incidence of automobile theft; 
  2.35     (vii) providing financial support for automobile theft 
  2.36  educational and training programs for state and local law 
  3.1   enforcement officials, driver and vehicle services exam and 
  3.2   inspections staff, and members of the judiciary; and 
  3.3      (viii) conducting educational programs designed to inform 
  3.4   automobile owners of methods of preventing automobile theft and 
  3.5   to provide equipment, for experimental purposes, to enable 
  3.6   automobile owners to prevent automobile theft. 
  3.7      On or before January 15 of each year, the board shall 
  3.8   report to the governor and legislature on its activities and 
  3.9   expenditures in the preceding year. 
  3.10     Subd. 3.  [SURCHARGE.] Each insurer engaged in the writing 
  3.11  of policies of automobile insurance shall collect a surcharge, 
  3.12  at the rate of 50 cents per vehicle for every six months of 
  3.13  coverage, on each policy of automobile insurance providing 
  3.14  comprehensive insurance coverage issued or renewed in this 
  3.15  state.  The surcharge may not be considered premium for any 
  3.16  purpose, including the computation of premium tax or agents' 
  3.17  commissions.  The amount of the surcharge must be separately 
  3.18  stated on either a billing or policy declaration sent to an 
  3.19  insured.  Insurers shall remit the revenue derived from this 
  3.20  surcharge to the board for purposes of the automobile theft 
  3.21  prevention program.  For purposes of this subdivision, "policy 
  3.22  of automobile insurance" has the meaning given it in section 
  3.23  65B.14, except that no vehicle with a gross vehicle weight in 
  3.24  excess of 10,000 pounds is included within this definition. 
  3.25     Subd. 4.  [AUTOMOBILE THEFT PREVENTION ACCOUNT.] An 
  3.26  automobile theft prevention account is an account in the state 
  3.27  government special revenue fund in the state treasury consisting 
  3.28  of the proceeds of the surcharge imposed under subdivision 3.  
  3.29  Revenue in the account may be used only for the automobile theft 
  3.30  prevention program.  The board may not spend in any fiscal year 
  3.31  more than ten percent of the money in the fund for its 
  3.32  administrative and operating costs.  
  3.33     Sec. 2.  [INITIAL TERMS.] 
  3.34     Notwithstanding section 1, subdivision 1, in making the 
  3.35  initial appointments to the board established by that 
  3.36  subdivision the governor shall appoint four members to two-year 
  4.1   terms and three members to one-year terms. 
  4.2      Sec. 3.  [COMMENCEMENT OF SURCHARGE.] 
  4.3      Each insurer governed by section 1, subdivision 3, shall 
  4.4   begin to collect and remit the surcharge required by that 
  4.5   subdivision on January 1, 1997. 
  4.6      Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.7      $....... is appropriated from the state government special 
  4.8   revenue fund to the automobile theft prevention board for 
  4.9   automobile theft prevention activities.  The appropriation is 
  4.10  available until expended. 
  4.11     Sec. 5.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.12     Section 1 is repealed January 1, 2002. 
  4.13     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.14     Sections 1 to 3 are effective January 1, 1997.