1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to motor vehicles; establishing a vehicle 
  1.3             insurance and registration monitoring program; 
  1.4             requiring insurance companies to report information; 
  1.5             requiring preparation of databases to identify 
  1.6             uninsured motorists and improperly registered 
  1.7             vehicles; prescribing a penalty; appropriating money; 
  1.8             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.796, 
  1.9             subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.10            Minnesota Statutes, chapters 65B; and 169. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12           DISCLOSURE OF REPARATION SECURITY INFORMATION 
  1.13     Section 1.  [65B.90] [MANDATORY DISCLOSURE.] 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [INFORMATION REPORTING REQUIREMENT.] On at 
  1.15  least a monthly basis, each insurance company that issues 
  1.16  policies of reparation security in this state and each 
  1.17  administrator of a self-insurance plan registered with the 
  1.18  commissioner of public safety must provide to the agent 
  1.19  designated by the commissioner of public safety under section 
  1.20  169.7991 a record of each reparation security policy in force.  
  1.21  The record must include the name, date of birth, and driver's 
  1.22  license number of each named insured individual; make, year, and 
  1.23  identification number of each insured vehicle; and policy 
  1.24  number, effective date, and expiration date of each policy. 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [NONLIABILITY.] Neither an insurance company nor 
  1.26  an administrator of a self-insurance plan is liable to any 
  1.27  person for complying with this section. 
  1.28     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.796, 
  2.1   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subdivision 1.  [RELEASE OF INFORMATION.] An insurance 
  2.3   company shall release information to the department of public 
  2.4   safety, its agent designated under section 169.7991, or the law 
  2.5   enforcement authorities necessary to the verification of 
  2.6   insurance coverage.  An insurance company or its agent acting on 
  2.7   its behalf, or an authorized person who releases the above 
  2.8   information, whether oral or written, acting in good faith, is 
  2.9   immune from any liability, civil or criminal, arising in 
  2.10  connection with the release of the information. 
  2.11     Sec. 3.  [169.7991] [VEHICLE INSURANCE AND REGISTRATION 
  2.12  MONITORING PROGRAM.] 
  2.13     Subdivision 1.  [ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; CONTRACT.] The 
  2.14  commissioner of public safety shall contract with an agent to 
  2.15  create and administer a vehicle insurance and registration 
  2.16  monitoring program.  The program will involve the establishment 
  2.17  of a vehicle insurance and registration database to verify 
  2.18  compliance with motor vehicle owner's or operator's security 
  2.19  requirements under section 65B.48 and to verify compliance with 
  2.20  vehicle registration requirements under section 168.09. 
  2.21     Subd. 2.  [AGENT DUTIES.] The agent shall: 
  2.22     (1) create, maintain, and update monthly a database of 
  2.23  vehicle insurance policies in force in this state from 
  2.24  information provided by insurance companies, administrators of 
  2.25  self-insurance plans under section 65B.90, and the commissioner 
  2.26  of public safety with regard to self-insurers; 
  2.27     (2) create, maintain, and update monthly a database of 
  2.28  vehicles registered in this state from information supplied by 
  2.29  the commissioner of public safety; 
  2.30     (3) compare, on a monthly basis, the vehicle registration 
  2.31  database with the vehicle insurance database to identify 
  2.32  vehicles registered in this state with owners who are not in 
  2.33  compliance with security requirements under section 65B.48; 
  2.34     (4) compare, on a monthly basis, the vehicle registration 
  2.35  database with the vehicle insurance database to identify 
  2.36  vehicles insured in this state but not registered in this state; 
  3.1      (5) transmit, on a monthly basis, to the commissioner a 
  3.2   record of all vehicles insured in this state but not registered 
  3.3   in this state; and 
  3.4      (6) issue notices as described in subdivisions 4 and 5. 
  3.5      Subd. 3.  [COMMISSIONER DUTIES.] The commissioner of public 
  3.6   safety shall provide the agent, at least monthly, with the 
  3.7   following information: 
  3.8      (1) on each vehicle registered within the state:  vehicle 
  3.9   make, model, and identification number; owner's name, date of 
  3.10  birth, address, and driver's license number; and date of next 
  3.11  required registration renewal; and 
  3.12     (2) on each individual self-insurer registered with the 
  3.13  department under section 65B.48, subdivision 3:  name and date 
  3.14  of birth; driver's license number; and make, year, and 
  3.15  identification number of each insured vehicle. 
  3.16     Subd. 4.  [NONCOMPLIANCE NOTICE.] The agent shall provide 
  3.17  notice to vehicle owners as follows: 
  3.18     (a) When a comparison under subdivision 2 identifies a 
  3.19  vehicle registered within this state without a plan of 
  3.20  reparation security required under section 65B.48 for two 
  3.21  consecutive months, the agent shall mail notice of noncompliance 
  3.22  to the vehicle owner stating that the owner must provide to the 
  3.23  agent within 45 days proof of reparation security required by 
  3.24  section 65B.48 or proof of exemption from the compulsory 
  3.25  reparation security requirement.  The notice must state that 
  3.26  operation of a vehicle without required insurance may subject 
  3.27  the owner to criminal penalties. 
  3.28     (b) When a comparison under subdivision 2 identifies a 
  3.29  vehicle that has not been registered in this state for two 
  3.30  consecutive months, but for which an insurance policy is issued 
  3.31  in this state, the vendor shall mail notice to the vehicle owner 
  3.32  stating that the owner may be required by section 168.09 to 
  3.33  register the vehicle with the department of public safety.  The 
  3.34  notice must state that intentional delay or neglect to register 
  3.35  a vehicle required to be registered in this state is a gross 
  3.36  misdemeanor and may subject the owner to criminal penalties. 
  4.1      Subd. 5.  [ADDITIONAL NOTICE.] If, at least 45 days after 
  4.2   the date of a notice to a vehicle owner issued under subdivision 
  4.3   4, paragraph (a), the agent has not received proof of required 
  4.4   reparation security or exemption from the requirement, the agent 
  4.5   shall issue an additional notice of noncompliance to the vehicle 
  4.6   owner. 
  4.7      Sec. 4.  [169.7992] [INSURANCE INFORMATION DISCLOSURE; 
  4.8   PENALTY.] 
  4.9      Subdivision 1.  [RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE.] The 
  4.10  information in the databases established in section 169.7991 may 
  4.11  not be disclosed under chapter 13 or otherwise, except as 
  4.12  follows: 
  4.13     (1) for investigating, litigating, or enforcing the 
  4.14  compulsory reparation security requirement under section 65B.48, 
  4.15  the agent shall verify insurance coverage for a state or local 
  4.16  government agency; 
  4.17     (2) for investigating, litigating, or enforcing the 
  4.18  compulsory reparation security requirement under section 65B.48, 
  4.19  the agent, upon request of a state or local government agency, 
  4.20  shall issue to the requesting agency a certification of 
  4.21  insurance status, as contained in the database, of a specific 
  4.22  individual or vehicle for a time period designated by the 
  4.23  government agency; and 
  4.24     (3) upon request, the department shall disclose whether or 
  4.25  not a person is insured to: 
  4.26     (i) that person; 
  4.27     (ii) the parent or legal guardian of that person, if the 
  4.28  person is an unemancipated minor; 
  4.29     (iii) the legal guardian of that person, if the person is 
  4.30  legally incapacitated; 
  4.31     (iv) a person who has power of attorney from the insured 
  4.32  person; 
  4.33     (v) a person who submits a notarized release from the 
  4.34  insured person dated no more than 90 days before the date the 
  4.35  request is made; or 
  4.36     (vi) a person suffering loss or injury in a motor vehicle 
  5.1   accident in which the insured person is involved, but only as 
  5.2   part of an accident report as authorized in section 169.09. 
  5.3      Subd. 2.  [CRIMINAL PENALTY.] A person who knowingly 
  5.4   releases or discloses information from the database for a 
  5.5   purpose other than those authorized in this section, or to a 
  5.6   person who is not entitled to it, is guilty of a gross 
  5.7   misdemeanor. 
  5.8      Subd. 3.  [INSURER NONLIABILITY.] An insurer is not liable 
  5.9   to any person for complying with this section by providing 
  5.10  information to the agent. 
  5.11     Subd. 4.  [STATE AND DEPARTMENT NONLIABILITY.] Neither the 
  5.12  state nor the department's agent is liable to any person for 
  5.13  gathering, managing, or using the information in the database as 
  5.14  provided in this section and section 169.7991. 
  5.15     Sec. 5.  [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] 
  5.16     The department of public safety shall report to the 
  5.17  legislature by September 1, 2001, concerning the operation of 
  5.18  the vehicle insurance and registration monitoring program, the 
  5.19  impact of the program on the identification and number of 
  5.20  uninsured motorists, and the revenue impact to the highway user 
  5.21  tax distribution fund due to increased registration compliance. 
  5.22     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.23     $....... is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 
  5.24  2001, from the trunk highway fund to the commissioner of public 
  5.25  safety to contract with an agent under section 3, administer the 
  5.26  vehicle insurance and registration monitoring program, and 
  5.27  prepare the required report.