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SF 1894

1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 02:24am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Current Version - 1st Engrossment

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A bill for an act
relating to public safety; requiring commissioner of public safety to revise
the uniform traffic citation; authorizing local units of government to impose
administrative fines for certain offenses; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008,
sections 6.74; 169.985; 169.99, subdivision 1; 357.021, subdivision 6; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 6.74, is amended to read:


6.74 INFORMATION COLLECTED FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

The state auditor, or a designated agent, shall collect annually from all city, county,
and other local units of government, information as to the assessment of property,
collection of taxes, receipts from licenses and other sourcesnew text begin including administrative fines
assessed and collected pursuant to section 169.999
new text end , the expenditure of public funds for
all purposes, borrowing, debts, principal and interest payments on debts, and such other
information as may be needful. The data shall be supplied upon forms prescribed by
the state auditor, and all public officials so called upon shall fill out properly and return
promptly all forms so transmitted. The state auditor or assistants, may examine local
records in order to complete or verify the information.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 169.985, is amended to read:


169.985 TRAFFIC CITATION QUOTA PROHIBITED.

A law enforcement agency may not order, mandate, require, or suggest to a peace
officer a quota for the issuance of traffic citationsnew text begin , including administrative citations
authorized under section 169.999,
new text end on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 169.99, subdivision 1, is amended to read:


Subdivision 1.

Form.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision 3, there shall be a
uniform ticket issued throughout the state by the police and peace officers or by any other
person for violations of this chapter and ordinances in conformity thereto. Such uniform
traffic ticket shall be in the form and have the effect of a summons and complaintnew text begin , except if
the citation is issued for an administrative violation pursuant to section 169.999
new text end . Except as
provided in paragraph (b)new text begin or if the ticket is for an administrative citation issued pursuant
to section 169.999
new text end , the uniform ticket shall state that if the defendant fails to appear in
court in response to the ticket, an arrest warrant may be issued. The uniform traffic ticket
shall consist of deleted text begin fourdeleted text end new text begin fivenew text end parts, on paper sensitized so that copies may be made without the
use of carbon paper, as follows:

(1) the complaint, with reverse side for officer's notes for testifying in court, driver's
past record, and court's action, printed on white paper;

(2) the abstract of court record for the Department of Public Safety, which shall be a
copy of the complaint with the certificate of conviction on the reverse side, printed on
yellow paper;

(3) the police record, which shall be a copy of the complaint and of the reverse
side of copy (1), printed on pink paper;

(4) the summons, with, on the reverse side, such information as the court may wish
to give concerning the Traffic Violations Bureau, and a plea of guilty and waiver, printed
on off-white tag stocknew text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (5) a box for a peace officer to use to designate the citation as administrative
pursuant to section 169.999 with accompanying space for local units of government to
print specific instructions on how to pay and challenge administrative citations
new text end .

(b) If the offense is a petty misdemeanor, the uniform ticket must state that a failure
to appear will be considered a plea of guilty and waiver of the right to trial, unless the
failure to appear is due to circumstances beyond the person's control.

Sec. 4.

new text begin [169.999] ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS FOR CERTAIN TRAFFIC
OFFENSES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Authority. new text end

new text begin (a) Except for peace officers employed by the state
patrol, prior to a peace officer issuing an administrative citation under this section, the
governing body for the local unit of government that employs the peace officer must
pass a resolution that:
new text end

new text begin (1) authorizes issuance of administrative citations;
new text end

new text begin (2) obligates the local unit of government to provide a neutral third party to hear and
rule on challenges to administrative citations; and
new text end

new text begin (3) bars peace officers from issuing administrative citations in violation of this
section.
new text end

new text begin (b) A peace officer may issue an administrative citation to a vehicle operator who:
new text end

new text begin (1) violates section 169.14, and the violation consists of a speed under ten miles per
hour in excess of the lawful speed limit;
new text end

new text begin (2) fails to obey a stop line in violation of section 169.30; or
new text end

new text begin (3) operates a vehicle that is in violation of sections 169.46 to 169.68 and 169.69
to 169.75.
new text end

new text begin (c) The authority to issue an administrative citation is exclusively limited to those
offenses listed in this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin (d) A peace officer who issues an administrative citation for the infraction of
speeding under ten miles per hour over the speed limit must use the actual speed a
violator's vehicle was traveling at the time of the infraction and may not reduce the
recorded speed for purposes of qualifying the offense for an administrative citation. An
administrative citation issued for speeding must list the actual speed the vehicle was
traveling at the time of the infraction.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Officer's authority. new text end

new text begin The authority to issue an administrative penalty
is reserved exclusively to licensed peace officers. An officer may not be required by
ordinance or otherwise to issue a citation under this section instead of a criminal citation.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Right to contest citation. new text end

new text begin (a) A peace officer who issues an administrative
citation must inform the vehicle operator that the person has the right to contest the citation.
new text end

new text begin (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), the local unit of government that employs
the peace officer who issues an administrative citation must provide a civil process for a
person to contest the administrative citation. The person must be allowed to challenge the
citation before a neutral third party. A local unit of government may employ a person to
hear and rule on challenges to administrative citations or contract with another local unit
of government or a private entity to provide the service.
new text end

new text begin (c) The state patrol may contract with local units of government or private entities
to collect administrative fines and to provide a neutral third party to hear and rule on
challenges to administrative citations. An administrative citation issued by a state patrol
trooper must clearly state how and where a violator can challenge the citation.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Fines; disbursement. new text end

new text begin (a) A person who commits an administrative
violation under subdivision 1 must pay a fine of $60.
new text end

new text begin (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), two-thirds of a fine collected under this
section must be credited to the general revenue fund of the local unit of government
that employs the peace officer who issued the citation, and one-third must be transferred
to the commissioner of finance to be deposited in the state general fund. A local unit
of government receiving fine proceeds under this section must use at least one-half of
the funds for law enforcement purposes. The funds must be used to supplement but not
supplant any existing law enforcement funding.
new text end

new text begin (c) For fines collected under this section from administrative citations issued by
state patrol troopers, one-third shall be credited to the general fund of the local unit of
government or entity that collects the fine and provides a hearing officer and two-thirds
must be transferred to the commissioner of finance to be deposited in the state general fund.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Commercial driver's licenses; exception. new text end

new text begin The holder of a commercial
driver's license may not be issued an administrative citation under this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Driving records. new text end

new text begin A violation under this subdivision may not be recorded
by the Department of Public Safety on the violator's driving record and does not constitute
grounds for revocation or suspension of the violator's driver's license.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Administrative penalty reporting. new text end

new text begin A county, city, or town that employs
peace officers who issue administrative citations and collects administrative fines under
this section must include that information and the amount collected as separate categories
in any financial report, summary, or audit.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Local preemption. new text end

new text begin The authority to issue an administrative citation is
exclusively limited to those offenses listed in subdivision 1. Notwithstanding any contrary
charter provision or ordinance, no statutory or home rule charter city, county, or town may
impose administrative penalties to enforce any other provision of this chapter.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 357.021, subdivision 6, is amended to read:


Subd. 6.

Surcharges on criminal and traffic offenders.

(a) Except as provided
in this paragraph, the court shall impose and the court administrator shall collect a $75
surcharge on every person convicted of any felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or
petty misdemeanor offense, other than a violation of a law or ordinance relating to vehicle
parking, for which there shall be a $4 surcharge. In the Second Judicial District, the
court shall impose, and the court administrator shall collect, an additional $1 surcharge
on every person convicted of any felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or petty
misdemeanor offense, including a violation of a law or ordinance relating to vehicle
parking, if the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners authorizes the $1 surcharge. The
surcharge shall be imposed whether or not the person is sentenced to imprisonment or the
sentence is stayed. The surcharge shall not be imposed when a person is convicted of a
petty misdemeanor for which no fine is imposed.

(b) If the court fails to impose a surcharge as required by this subdivision, the court
administrator shall show the imposition of the surcharge, collect the surcharge, and
correct the record.

(c) The court may not waive payment of the surcharge required under this
subdivision. Upon a showing of indigency or undue hardship upon the convicted person
or the convicted person's immediate family, the sentencing court may authorize payment
of the surcharge in installments.

(d) The court administrator or other entity collecting a surcharge shall forward it
to the commissioner of finance.

(e) If the convicted person is sentenced to imprisonment and has not paid the
surcharge before the term of imprisonment begins, the chief executive officer of the
correctional facility in which the convicted person is incarcerated shall collect the
surcharge from any earnings the inmate accrues from work performed in the facility
or while on conditional release. The chief executive officer shall forward the amount
collected to the commissioner of finance.

new text begin (f) The surcharge does not apply to administrative citations issued pursuant to
section 169.999.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY; REVISE UNIFORM
CITATION.
new text end

new text begin (a) For any uniform traffic citations printed after the effective date of Minnesota
Statutes, section 169.999, the commissioner of public safety shall revise the uniform
traffic citation to include the information required by Minnesota Statutes, section 169.99,
subdivision 1, clause (5), regarding administrative citations. The commissioner shall
consult with representatives from the Sheriff's Association of Minnesota, the Minnesota
Chiefs of Police Association, and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association on
how the uniform traffic citation shall incorporate administrative citations.
new text end

new text begin (b) Within 60 days of enactment, the commissioner of public safety must publish an
addendum to the uniform traffic citation that peace officers can use to issue administrative
citations prior to the commissioner issuing a uniform traffic citation that incorporates
administrative citations.
new text end