SF 368

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 02/28/2013 10:44am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; drivers' licenses; driver education; modifying and
clarifying provisions relating to instruction permits; establishing a Novice Driver
Education Improvement Task Force; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2012, sections 171.05, subdivision 2; 171.0701, by adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Person less than 18 years of age.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision
in subdivision 1 to the contrary, the department may issue an instruction permit to an
applicant who is 15, 16, or 17 years of age and who:

(1) has completed a course of driver education in another state, has a previously
issued valid license from another state, or is enrolled in either:

(i) a public, private, or commercial driver education program that is approved by
the commissioner of public safety and that includes classroom and behind-the-wheel
training; or

(ii) an approved behind-the-wheel driver education program when the student is
receiving full-time instruction in a home school within the meaning of sections 120A.22
and 120A.24, the student is working toward a homeschool diploma, the student is taking
home-classroom driver training with classroom materials approved by the commissioner
of public safety, and the student's parent has certified the student's homeschool and
home-classroom driver training status on the form approved by the commissioner;

(2) has completed the classroom phase of instruction in the driver education program
or has completed 15 hours of classroom instruction in a program that presents classroom
and behind-the-wheel instruction concurrently;

(3) has passed a test of the applicant's eyesight;

(4) has passed a department-administered test of the applicant's knowledge of traffic
laws;

(5) has completed the required application, which must be approved by (i) either
parent when both reside in the same household as the minor applicant or, if otherwise,
then (ii) the parent or spouse of the parent having custody or, in the event there is no
court order for custody, then (iii) the parent or spouse of the parent with whom the minor
is living or, if items (i) to (iii) do not apply, then (iv) the guardian having custody of the
minor, (v) the foster parent or the director of the transitional living program in which the
child resides or, in the event a person under the age of 18 has no living father, mother,
or guardian, or is married or otherwise legally emancipated, then (vi) the applicant's
adult spouse, adult close family member, or adult employer; provided, that the approval
required by this clause contains a verification of the age of the applicant and the identity of
the parent, guardian, adult spouse, adult close family member, or adult employer; and

(6) has paid the fee all fees required in section 171.06, subdivision 2.

(b) For the purposes of determining compliance with the certification of paragraph
(a), clause (1), item (ii), the commissioner may request verification of a student's
homeschool status from the superintendent of the school district in which the student
resides and the superintendent shall provide that verification.

(c) The instruction permit is valid for two years from the date of application and
may be renewed upon payment of a fee equal to the fee for issuance of an instruction
permit under section 171.06, subdivision 2.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.0701, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 1a.

Novice Driver Education Improvement Task Force.

(a) The
Novice Driver Education Improvement Task Force is established to ensure driver
education programs in Minnesota meet the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training
Administrative Standards published by the United States Department of Transportation,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

(b) The task force consists of 21 members:

(1) the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee;

(2) two representatives from and designated by the Minnesota Association of
Student Councils;

(3) one representative from and designated by Mothers Against Drunk Driving;

(4) one representative from and designated by Minnesotans for Safe Driving;

(5) two representatives from law enforcement organizations, such as the Minnesota
Chiefs of Police Association and the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association appointed by the
commissioner;

(6) one representative from and designated by the American Automobile Association;

(7) one representative from and designated by the Minnesota Safety Council;

(8) two representatives from and designated by the Minnesota PTA;

(9) five driver educators from the Minnesota Driver and Traffic Safety Education
Association designated by the commissioner; and

(10) five driver educators from commercial driving schools, designated by the
commissioner.

(c) Any vacancies shall be filled by the appointing or designating authorities.

(d) Members shall serve without compensation.

(e) Members shall be appointed or designated by August 1, 2013.

(f) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall convene the first meeting
of the task force after all appointments have been made. At the first meeting, the task
force shall elect a chair from among its members by majority vote. The first meeting must
take place by September 1, 2013.

(g) The duties of the task force are to examine and compare Minnesota law and
rules concerning driver education with the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training
Administrative Standards, identify discrepancies, and determine to what extent, if any,
state law should be modified to conform with federal standards.

(h) The commissioner shall provide support staff and administrative services for
the task force.

(i) The task force shall submit a report no later than August 31, 2015, to the
chairs and ranking minority members of the committees in the house of representatives
and senate having jurisdiction over transportation policy and finance, containing its
recommendation as to whether or to what extent Minnesota's driver education programs
should conform to national standards referenced in paragraph (a), and if so, providing draft
legislation necessary or desirable to achieve the recommended level of federal conformity.
The report may present recommendations for improving Minnesota's driver education
curriculum and identify associated costs.

Sec. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.

$....... is appropriated from the ............. fund to the commissioner of public safety
for the costs of sections 1 and 2.

Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

Section 1 is effective June 1, 2014. Section 2 is effective the day following final
enactment and is repealed September 1, 2015, or the day after the task force created in
section 2 submits its report, as required in section 2, paragraph (i), whichever occurs first.