Minnesota Session Laws - 1993, Regular Session

  
    Laws of Minnesota 1993 

                        CHAPTER 281-S.F.No. 1221 
           An act relating to motor vehicles; requiring license 
          plates to stay with motor carrier on prorate truck; 
          changing the registration period for prorate vehicles; 
          excepting prorate vehicles from renewal notice 
          requirements; making owner-operator subject to 
          suspension of plates and international fuel tax 
          agreement license for certain delinquent filings or 
          payments; authorizing warning lamps on solid waste 
          collection vehicles; amending Minnesota Statutes 1992, 
          sections 168.09, subdivisions 3 and 5; 168.12, 
          subdivision 1; 168.187, subdivision 26; 168.31, 
          subdivision 4a; and 169.64, by adding a subdivision. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 168.09, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [PRORATABLE VEHICLES; OTHER VEHICLES.] (a) Plates 
or other insignia issued for a motor vehicle registered under 
the provisions of section 168.187 for a calendar year shall be 
displayed on the motor vehicle not later than 12:01 a.m. on 
March 2 of the year unless extended by the registrar for the 
period of time required for the issuance of the new plates or 
insignia.  The commissioner of public safety shall register all 
motor vehicles registered under section 168.187 for a period of 
14 months for the registration year 1994 to implement the 
provisions of this subdivision.  The registration year for 
vehicles registered under section 168.187 as provided in this 
section shall be from March 1 to the last day of February for 
1995 and succeeding years.  
    (b) Plates or other insignia issued for a self-propelled 
motor vehicle registered for over 27,000 pounds except a motor 
vehicle registered under the provision of sections 168.017 and 
168.187 shall be displayed on the vehicle not later than 12:01 
a.m. on March 2 of the year, nor earlier than 12:01 a.m. on 
February 15 of the year, unless otherwise extended by the 
registrar for the period of time required for the issuance of 
the new plates or insignia.  
    (c) Plates or other insignia issued for a self-propelled 
vehicle registered for 27,000 pounds or less and all other motor 
vehicles except those registered under the provisions of section 
168.017 or 168.187 shall be displayed not later than 12:01 a.m. 
on March 2 of the year, and not earlier than January 1 of the 
year unless otherwise extended by the registrar for the period 
of time required for the issuance of the new plates or 
insignia.  The commissioner of public safety shall register all 
motor vehicles with the exception of those registered under 
sections 168.017 or 168.187 for a period of 14 months for the 
registration year 1978 to implement the provisions of this 
subdivision.  The registration year for all vehicles as provided 
in this section paragraph and paragraph (b) shall be from March 
1 to the last day of February for 1979 and succeeding years. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 168.09, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  [DEFENSES TO FAILURE TO RENEW.] No person may be 
charged with violating this section by reason of failure to 
renew the registration of a previously registered motor vehicle, 
except those vehicles registered under section 168.187, if: 
    (1) the person produces a statement from the registrar to 
the effect that the person was not notified by the registrar of 
the annual renewal for the registration of the vehicle to which 
a citation was issued; and 
    (2) the person renews the registration and pays the motor 
vehicle tax and fees due within ten days of being cited for the 
violation. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 168.12, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [NUMBER PLATES; DESIGN, VISIBILITY, PERIODS 
OF ISSUANCE.] The registrar, upon the approval and payment, 
shall issue to the applicant the number plates required by law, 
bearing the state name and the number assigned.  The number 
assigned may be a combination of a letter or sign with figures.  
The color of the plates and the color of the abbreviation of the 
state name and the number assigned shall be in marked contrast.  
The plates shall be lettered, spaced, or distinguished to 
suitably indicate the registration of the vehicle according to 
the rules of the registrar, and when a vehicle is registered on 
the basis of total gross weight, the plates issued shall clearly 
indicate by letters or other suitable insignia the maximum gross 
weight for which the tax has been paid.  These number plates 
shall be so treated as to be at least 100 times brighter than 
the conventional painted number plates.  When properly mounted 
on an unlighted vehicle, these number plates, when viewed from a 
vehicle equipped with standard headlights, shall be visible for 
a distance of not less than 1,500 feet and readable for a 
distance of not less than 110 feet.  The registrar shall issue 
these number plates for the following periods: 
    (1) New number plates issued pursuant to section 168.012, 
subdivision 1, shall be issued to a vehicle for as long as it is 
owned by the exempt agency and shall not be transferable from 
one vehicle to another but may be transferred with the vehicle 
from one tax exempt agency to another.  
     (2) Plates issued for passenger automobiles as defined in 
section 168.011, subdivision 7, shall be issued for a seven-year 
period.  All plates issued under this paragraph must be replaced 
if they are seven years old or older at the time of annual 
registration or will become so during the registration period. 
     (3) Number plates issued under sections 168.053 and 168.27, 
subdivisions 16 and 17, shall be for a seven-year period. 
     (4) Plates for any vehicle not specified in clauses (1) to 
(3), except for trailers as hereafter provided, shall be issued 
for the life of the vehicle.  Beginning with number plates 
issued for the year 1981, plates issued for trailers with a 
total gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less shall be issued for 
the life of the trailer and shall be not more than seven inches 
in length and four inches in width. 
     In a year in which plates are not issued, the registrar 
shall issue for each registration a tab or sticker to designate 
the year of registration.  This tab or sticker shall show the 
calendar year or years for which issued, and is valid only for 
that period.  The number plates, number tabs, or stickers issued 
for a motor vehicle may not be transferred to another motor 
vehicle during the period for which it is issued, except a motor 
vehicle registered under section 168.187. 
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, 
number plates issued to a vehicle which is used for 
behind-the-wheel instruction in a driver education course in a 
public school may be transferred to another vehicle used for the 
same purpose without payment of any additional fee.  The 
registrar shall be notified of each transfer of number plates 
under this paragraph and may prescribe a form for notification. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 168.187, 
subdivision 26, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 26.  [DELINQUENT FILING OR PAYMENT.] If a fleet owner 
or owner-operator licensed under this section and section 
168.041, subdivision 11, is delinquent in either filing or 
paying the international fuel tax agreement reports for more 
than 30 days, or paying the international registration plan 
billing for more than 30 days, the fleet owner or 
owner-operator, after ten days' written notice, is subject to 
suspension of the apportioned license plates and the 
international fuel tax agreement license. 
     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 168.31, 
subdivision 4a, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 4a.  [INSTALLMENTS.] If the tax for a vehicle 
assessed under section 168.187 amounts to more than $400, the 
owner may pay the tax by installments.  The owner shall submit 
with the application for registration, no later than January 1 
or the registration year, one-third of the Minnesota annual tax 
due or $400, whichever is greater.  The applicant shall furnish 
a bond, bank letter of credit, or certificate of deposit 
approved by the registrar of motor vehicles, for the total of 
the tax still due.  The amount of the bond, letter of credit, or 
certificate of deposit may include any penalties assessed.  The 
bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit must be for 
the benefit of the state for monetary loss caused by failure of 
the vehicle owner to pay delinquent license fees and penalties.  
The remainder of the tax due must be paid in two equal 
installments; the due date of the first installment is May 1 and 
the second installment is due on September 1.  If an owner of a 
vehicle fails to pay an installment on or before the due date, 
the vehicle must not be used on the public streets or highways 
in this state until the installment or installments of the tax 
remaining due on the vehicle has been paid in full for the 
licensed year, together with a penalty at the rate of $1 per day 
for the remainder of the month in which the balance of the tax 
becomes due and $4 a month for each succeeding month or fraction 
of it during which the balance of the tax remains unpaid.  The 
registrar shall deny installment payment privileges provided in 
this subdivision in the subsequent year to any owner on any or 
all vehicles of an owner who during the current year fails to 
pay any installment and penalties due within one month after the 
due date. 
     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 169.64, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 9.  [WARNING LAMPS ON VEHICLES COLLECTING SOLID 
WASTE.] A vehicle used to collect solid waste may be equipped 
with a single amber gaseous discharge warning lamp that meets 
the Society of Automotive Engineers standard J 1318, Class 2.  
The lamp may be operated only when the collection vehicle is in 
the process of collecting solid waste and is either: 
    (1) stopped at an establishment where solid waste is to be 
collected; or 
    (2) traveling at a speed that is at least ten miles per 
hour below the posted speed limit and moving between 
establishments where solid waste is to be collected. 
    Presented to the governor May 15, 1993 
    Signed by the governor May 19, 1993, 10:36 a.m.