Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 260-S.F.No. 979 
                  An act relating to transportation; regulating 
                  hazardous material transporters; requiring 
                  fingerprints of motor carrier managers for criminal 
                  background checks; making technical changes related to 
                  calculating proportional mileage under the 
                  international registration plan; specifying violations 
                  that may result in suspension or revocation of permit; 
                  making technical changes relating to hazardous waste 
                  transporter licenses; providing for disposition of 
                  fees collected for hazardous material registration, 
                  licensing, and permitting; regulating security and 
                  fare policies for metropolitan transit buses; 
                  requiring sound abatement study; appropriating money; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 221.0355, 
                  subdivisions 3, 5, 6, 12, 15, and by adding a 
                  subdivision; and 473.408, subdivision 2, and by adding 
                  a subdivision. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.] Except as provided in 
        subdivision 17, after October 1, 1994: 
           (a) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
        hazardous material by motor vehicle in Minnesota unless it has 
        complied with subdivision 4. 
           (b) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
        hazardous waste in Minnesota unless it has complied with 
        subdivisions 4 and 5. 
           (c) No shipper may offer a designated hazardous material 
        for shipment or cause a designated hazardous material to be 
        transported or shipped in Minnesota unless it has complied with 
        subdivision 7. 
           (d) No carrier, other than a public entity, may transport a 
        designated hazardous material by rail or water in Minnesota 
        unless it has complied with subdivision 7a. 
           (e) No public entity may transport a hazardous material or 
        hazardous waste by motor vehicle in Minnesota unless it has 
        complied with subdivision 8. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
        subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5.  [HAZARDOUS WASTE TRANSPORTERS.] (a) A carrier 
        with its principal place of business in Minnesota or who 
        designates Minnesota as its base state shall file a disclosure 
        statement with and obtain a permit from the commissioner that 
        specifically authorizes the transportation of hazardous waste 
        before transporting a hazardous waste in Minnesota.  A carrier 
        that designates another participating state as its base state 
        shall file a disclosure statement with and obtain a permit from 
        that state that specifically authorizes the transportation of 
        hazardous waste before transporting a hazardous waste in 
        Minnesota.  A registration is valid for one year from the date a 
        notice of registration form is issued and a permit is valid for 
        three years from the date issued or until a carrier fails to 
        renew its registration, whichever occurs first. 
           (b) A disclosure statement must include the information 
        contained in part III of the uniform application.  A person who 
        has direct management responsibility for a carrier's hazardous 
        waste transportation operations shall submit a full set of the 
        person's fingerprints, with the carrier's disclosure statement, 
        for identification purposes and to enable the commissioner to 
        determine whether the person has a criminal record.  The 
        commissioner shall send the person's fingerprints to the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation and shall request the bureau to conduct 
        a check of the person's criminal record.  The commissioner shall 
        not issue a notice of registration or permit to a hazardous 
        waste transporter who has not made a full and accurate 
        disclosure of the required information or paid the fees required 
        by this subdivision.  Making a materially false or misleading 
        statement in a disclosure statement is prohibited. 
           (c) The commissioner shall assess a carrier the actual 
        costs charged incurred by the commissioner by a person for 
        conducting the uniform program's required investigation of the 
        information contained in a disclosure statement. 
           (d) A permit under this subdivision becomes a license under 
        section 221.035, subdivision 1, on August 1, 1996, and is 
        subject to the provisions of section 221.035 until it expires. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
        subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 6.  [APPORTIONED VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE 
        CALCULATION.] (a) An apportioned vehicle registration fee shall 
        be equal to the percentage of Minnesota transportation 
        multiplied by the percentage of hazardous material 
        transportation multiplied by the total number of vehicles the 
        carrier operates multiplied by a per-vehicle fee of $30. 
           (b) A carrier shall calculate its percentage of Minnesota 
        transportation and its percentage of hazardous material 
        transportation as follows: 
           (1) A carrier shall determine its percentage of Minnesota 
        transportation by dividing the number of miles it traveled in 
        Minnesota under the international registration plan, pursuant to 
        section 168.187, during the previous year, by the number of 
        miles it traveled nationwide in the United States and Canada 
        under the international registration plan during the previous 
        year.  If a carrier operated only in Minnesota, it must use 100 
        percent of the miles traveled as its percentage of Minnesota 
        transportation.  If a carrier does not register its vehicles 
        through the international registration plan, it must calculate 
        the number of miles traveled in the manner required under the 
        international registration plan.  If a carrier operates more 
        than one fleet under the international registration plan the 
        carrier must add all miles traveled by all vehicles in all 
        fleets to calculate its mileage.  A Minnesota carrier who 
        operates in an adjacent state under a reciprocal agreement with 
        that state must include the miles operated under the agreement 
        as miles traveled in Minnesota in calculating mileage under this 
        clause. 
           (2) A carrier shall determine its percentage of hazardous 
        material transportation as follows: 
           (i) for less-than-truckload shipments, it must divide the 
        weight of the carrier's hazardous material and hazardous waste 
        shipments transported during the previous year by the total 
        weight of all shipments transported during the previous year; or 
           (ii) for truckload shipments, it must divide the number of 
        shipments transported during the previous year for which 
        placarding, marking, or manifesting, was required by Code of 
        Federal Regulations, title 49, part 172, by the total number of 
        all shipments transported during the previous year. 
           (c) A carrier that transports both truckload and 
        less-than-truckload shipments of hazardous material or hazardous 
        waste must determine its percentage of hazardous material 
        transportation by calculating the absolute percentage of 
        business that is hazardous material transportation on a 
        proportional basis with the percentage of business that is not 
        hazardous material transportation.  If a method of determining a 
        carrier's percentage of hazardous material transportation based 
        on general percentage ranges, instead of actual percentages, 
        becomes allowed under the uniform program, a carrier shall use 
        that method to determine its percentage of hazardous material 
        transportation or by calculating its percentage within the 
        ranges allowed following procedures under the uniform program. 
           (d) The definitions of "truckload freight" and 
        "less-than-truckload freight" in section 221.011, do not apply 
        to this subdivision. 
           (e) A carrier may use data from its most recent complete 
        fiscal year or the most recent complete calendar year in 
        calculating the percentages required in this subdivision for 
        transportation conducted during the previous year. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
        subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 12.  [SUSPENSION, REVOCATION, AND DENIAL.] (a) The 
        commissioner may suspend or revoke a registration and permit 
        issued under this section or order the suspension of the 
        transportation of hazardous material or hazardous waste in 
        Minnesota by a carrier who has obtained a notice of registration 
        and permit from another participating state under the uniform 
        program if the commissioner determines that a carrier made a 
        materially false or misleading statement in a uniform 
        application or that a carrier's conduct constitutes a serious or 
        repeated violation of statutes or rules governing the 
        transportation of hazardous material or hazardous waste.:  
           (1) committed a violation of Code of Federal Regulations, 
        title 49, parts 100 to 180, 383, 387, or 390 to 397, while 
        engaging in hazardous materials transportation if the violation 
        posed an imminent hazard to the public or the environment; 
           (2) made a knowing falsification of a material fact in a 
        uniform application; 
           (3) has received an unsatisfactory safety rating from the 
        state or the United States Department of Transportation; or 
           (4) has exhibited reckless disregard for the public and the 
        environment.  
           (b) In determining if a carrier has exhibited reckless 
        disregard for the public and the environment in violation of 
        paragraph (a), clause (4), the commissioner shall consider:  
           (1) whether the carrier has engaged in a pattern of 
        violations of Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, parts 100 
        to 180, 383, 387, or 390 to 397, or regulations governing the 
        management of hazardous waste, while engaging in hazardous 
        materials transportation, when the violations are viewed in 
        relation to the number of truck-miles of hazardous material 
        transportation and the number of vehicles in the carrier's 
        fleet; 
           (2) the actual or potential level of environmental damage 
        resulting from an incident or a violation of the federal 
        regulations described in paragraph (a), clause (1); 
           (3) the response by the carrier to an incident or a 
        violation of the federal regulations described in paragraph (a), 
        clause (1); 
           (4) the carrier's history of violations for the past three 
        years; 
           (5) any mitigating factors; and 
           (6) other factors as justice requires, if the commissioner 
        specifically identifies the additional factors in the order of 
        suspension or revocation.  
           (c) The commissioner may not issue a notice of registration 
        and permit to a carrier if the commissioner determines that a 
        carrier's conduct would constitute grounds for suspension or 
        revocation under this subdivision.  A carrier who wishes to 
        contest a denial, suspension, or revocation is entitled to a 
        hearing under chapter 14.  
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, 
        subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 15.  [HAZARDOUS WASTE LICENSES.] (a) From October 1, 
        1994, until August 1, 1996, the commissioner shall not register 
        hazardous material transporters under section 221.0335 or 
        license hazardous waste transporters under section 221.035.  A 
        person who is licensed under section 221.035 need not obtain a 
        permit under subdivision 4 or 5 for the transportation of 
        hazardous waste in Minnesota, until the person's license has 
        expired.  A carrier wishing to transport hazardous waste in 
        another participating state shall obtain a permit under the 
        uniform program authorizing the transportation. 
           (b) The commissioner may refund fees paid under section 
        221.035, minus a proportional amount calculated on a monthly 
        basis for each month that a hazardous waste transporter license 
        was valid, to a person who was issued a hazardous waste 
        transporter license after May 5, 1994, who applied for a permit 
        authorizing the transportation of hazardous waste under 
        subdivisions 4 and 5 before October 1, 1994, and who was 
        subsequently issued that permit under the uniform program. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0355, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 18.  [DEPOSIT AND USE OF FEES.] Fees received by the 
        commissioner for administrative processing and investigating 
        information in a disclosure statement must be deposited in the 
        state treasury and credited to the trunk highway fund.  
        Notwithstanding section 221.82, registration fees collected 
        under subdivisions 4, 5, 7, and 7a must be deposited in the 
        state treasury, credited to the general fund, and used to cover 
        the costs of hazardous materials incident response capability 
        under sections 299A.48 to 299A.52 and 299K.095. 
           Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.408, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [FARE POLICY.] (a) Fares and fare collection 
        systems shall be established and administered to accomplish the 
        following purposes: 
           (1) to encourage and increase transit and paratransit 
        ridership with an emphasis on regular ridership; 
           (2) to restrain increases in the average operating subsidy 
        per passenger; 
           (3) to ensure that no riders on any route pay more in fares 
        than the average cost of providing the service on that route; 
           (4) to ensure that operating revenues are proportioned to 
        the cost of providing the service so as to reduce any disparity 
        in the subsidy per passenger on routes in the transit system; 
        and 
           (5) to implement the social fares as set forth in 
        subdivision 3 2b.  
           (b) The plan must contain a statement of the policies that 
        will govern the imposition of user charges for various types of 
        transit service and the policies that will govern decisions by 
        the council to change fare policy. 
           Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.408, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 2b.  [SOCIAL FARES.] For the purposes of raising 
        revenue for improving public safety on transit vehicles and at 
        transit hubs or stops, the council shall review and may adjust 
        its social fares as they relate to passengers under the age of 
        18 during high crime times provided that the increased revenues 
        are dedicated to improving the safety of all passengers. 
           Sec. 9.  [SOUND ABATEMENT STUDY.] 
           The commissioner of transportation shall, to the extent of 
        available funding, study sound abatement standards and measures 
        including the ability of our current programs to protect 
        citizens.  The commissioner shall report to the legislature by 
        February 1, 1997, on the sound abatement study. 
           Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
           $354,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
        metropolitan council for the purpose of providing security 
        measures on transit vehicles, including, but not limited to, 
        plexiglass enclosures for drivers and on-bus surveillance 
        cameras.  This appropriation is available until expended. 
           Sec. 11.  [APPLICATION.] 
           Sections 7 and 8 apply in the counties of Anoka, Carver, 
        Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.  
           Sec. 12.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 to 6, and 9 are effective the day following 
        final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor May 30, 1995 
           Signed by the governor June 1, 1995, 2:00 p.m.