Minnesota Session Laws - 1996, Regular Session

  
    
KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
     underscored = new language to be added
    
                            CHAPTER 387-H.F.No. 2163 
                  An act relating to motor carriers; prescribing 
                  conditions for granting medical waivers to truck 
                  drivers; exempting from federal hours of service 
                  regulation drivers transporting agricultural items 
                  during harvesting season; allowing electronic filing 
                  of financial responsibility forms; allowing protective 
                  agent to escort overweight vehicles; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 221.0314, by adding 
                  subdivisions; 221.033, subdivision 2a; 221.141, by 
                  adding a subdivision; and 326.338, subdivision 4; 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 221.0314, 
                  subdivision 3. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
        221.0314, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [WAIVER FOR PHYSICAL DEFECTS LIMB 
        IMPAIRMENTS.] (a) A person who is not physically qualified to 
        drive under subdivision 2, but who meets the other 
        qualifications under subdivision 2, may drive a motor vehicle if 
        the commissioner grants a waiver to that person.  The 
        commissioner may grant a waiver to a person who is not 
        physically qualified to drive under Code of Federal Regulations, 
        title 49, section 391.41, paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2), according 
        to rules adopted under section 221.031.  
           (b) The commissioner may grant a waiver to a person who is 
        not physically qualified to drive under Code of Federal 
        Regulations, title 49, section 391.41, paragraph (b)(3) to 
        (b)(13) for medical conditions for which waiver programs have 
        been established by the United States Department of 
        Transportation.  Except as required in paragraphs (c) to (f), 
        the commissioner shall require the same information and follow 
        the same procedure as the United States Department of 
        Transportation in granting the waivers.  The commissioner may 
        continue to grant waivers under this paragraph and paragraphs 
        (c) to (f) after the United States Department of Transportation 
        has discontinued its waiver program for a specific medical 
        condition if the commissioner determines that the waiver program 
        is consistent with the safe operation of motor vehicles. 
           (c) Despite federal requirements, the commissioner may 
        grant a waiver to a person who does not have three years' 
        experience in operating a commercial motor vehicle. 
           (d) Despite federal requirements, a person who has been 
        initially examined by a licensed physician and who has been 
        granted a waiver for a diabetic condition may be regularly 
        examined by the person's treating physician every six months 
        from the date a waiver is granted. 
           (e) Despite federal requirements, the commissioner may 
        grant a waiver to a person who requires insulin for controlling 
        diabetes but who has not been using insulin for the three years 
        preceding a waiver application if the applicant, in addition to 
        the information required by paragraph (b), submits a statement 
        from a licensed physician that includes: 
           (1) the date and a description of each episode experienced 
        by the person during the three years preceding a waiver 
        application that involved a loss of consciousness or voluntary 
        control due to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia; 
           (2) the person's prognosis for control of the diabetes; and 
           (3) the physician's professional opinion about whether the 
        person is medically qualified to exercise reasonable and 
        ordinary control over a commercial motor vehicle on the public 
        highways. 
           (f) A person who is granted a waiver after submitting the 
        information required in paragraph (e) must, in addition, submit 
        a statement from the person's treating physician every six 
        months from the date a waiver is granted that includes the 
        information described in paragraph (e), clauses (1) and (2), and 
        gives the physician's professional opinion about whether the 
        person continues to be medically qualified to exercise 
        reasonable and ordinary control over a commercial motor vehicle 
        on the public highways. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0314, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 3a.  [WAIVERS FOR OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS.] (a) The 
        commissioner may grant a waiver to a person who is not 
        physically qualified to drive under Code of Federal Regulations, 
        title 49, section 391.41, paragraph (b)(3) to (b)(13).  A waiver 
        granted under this subdivision applies to intrastate 
        transportation only. 
           (b) A person who wishes to obtain a waiver under this 
        subdivision must give the commissioner the following information:
           (1) the applicant's name, address, and telephone number; 
           (2) the name, address, and telephone number of an employer 
        coapplicant, if any; 
           (3) a description of the applicant's experience in driving 
        the type of vehicle to be operated under the waiver; 
           (4) a description of the type of driving to be done under 
        the waiver; 
           (5) a description of any modifications to the vehicle the 
        applicant intends to drive under the waiver that are designed to 
        accommodate the applicant's medical condition or disability; 
           (6) whether the applicant has been granted another waiver 
        under this subdivision; 
           (7) a copy of the applicant's current driver's license; 
           (8) a copy of a medical examiner's certificate showing that 
        the applicant is medically unqualified to drive unless a waiver 
        is granted; 
           (9) a statement from the applicant's treating physician 
        that includes: 
           (i) the extent to which the physician is familiar with the 
        applicant's medical history; 
           (ii) a description of the applicant's medical condition for 
        which a waiver is necessary; 
           (iii) assurance that the applicant has the ability and 
        willingness to follow any course of treatment prescribed by the 
        physician, including the ability to self-monitor or manage the 
        medical condition; and 
           (iv) the physician's professional opinion that the 
        applicant's condition will not adversely affect the applicant's 
        ability to operate a motor vehicle safely; and 
           (10) any other information considered necessary by the 
        commissioner including requiring a physical examination or 
        medical report from a physician who specializes in a particular 
        field of medical practice. 
           (c) In granting a waiver under this subdivision, the 
        commissioner may impose conditions the commissioner considers 
        necessary to ensure that an applicant is able to operate a motor 
        vehicle safely and that the safety of the general public is 
        protected. 
           (d) A person who is granted a waiver under this subdivision 
        must: 
           (1) at intervals specified in the waiver, give the 
        commissioner periodic reports from the person's treating 
        physician, or a medical specialist if the commissioner so 
        requires in the waiver, that contain the information described 
        in paragraph (b), clause (9), together with a description of any 
        episode that involved the person's loss of consciousness or loss 
        of ability to operate a motor vehicle safely; and 
           (2) immediately report the person's involvement in an 
        accident for which a report is required under section 169.09, 
        subdivision 7. 
           (e) The commissioner shall deny an application if, during 
        the three years preceding the application, the applicant's 
        driver's license has been suspended, canceled, or revoked or the 
        applicant has been convicted of a disqualifying offense, as 
        defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, section 
        383.51, paragraph (b)(2), which is incorporated by reference. 
           (f) The commissioner may deny an application or may 
        immediately revoke a waiver granted under this subdivision.  
        Notice of the commissioner's reasons for denying an application 
        or for revoking a waiver must be in writing and must be mailed 
        to the applicant's or waiver holder's last known address by 
        certified mail, return receipt requested.  A person whose 
        application is denied or whose waiver is revoked is entitled to 
        a hearing under chapter 14. 
           (g) A waiver granted under this subdivision expires on the 
        date of expiration shown on the medical examiner's certificate 
        described in paragraph (b), clause (8). 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.0314, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 9a.  [HOURS OF SERVICE EXEMPTION.] The federal 
        regulations incorporated in subdivision 9 for maximum driving 
        and on-duty time do not apply to drivers engaged in the 
        interstate or intrastate transportation of agricultural 
        commodities or farm supplies for agricultural purposes in 
        Minnesota during the planting and harvesting seasons from March 
        15 to December 15 of each year if the transportation is limited 
        to an area within a 100-air-mile radius from the source of the 
        commodities or the distribution point for the farm supplies. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.033, 
        subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2a.  [AGRICULTURALLY RELATED EXEMPTION.] (a) This 
        subdivision applies to persons engaged in intrastate commerce. 
           (b) Fertilizer and agricultural chemical retailers or their 
        employees are exempt from the rule in section 221.0314, 
        subdivision 4, requiring that drivers must be at least 21 years 
        of age when: 
           (1) the retailer or its employee is transporting fertilizer 
        or agricultural chemicals directly to a farm for on-farm use 
        within a radius of 50 miles of the retailer's business location; 
        and 
           (2) the driver employed by the retailer is at least 18 
        years of age. 
           (c) A fertilizer or agricultural chemical retailer, or a 
        driver employed by a fertilizer or agricultural chemical 
        retailer, is exempt from the rule in Code of Federal 
        Regulations, title 49, section 395.3, paragraph (b), relating to 
        hours of service of drivers, and section 395.8, requiring a 
        driver's record of duty status, while exclusively engaged in the 
        transportation of fertilizer or agricultural chemicals between 
        April 1 and July 1 of each year when: 
           (1) the transportation is from the retailer's place of 
        business directly to a farm within a 50-mile radius of the 
        retailer's place of business; 
           (2) the fertilizer or agricultural chemicals are for use on 
        the farm to which they are transported; and 
           (3) the employer maintains a daily record for each driver 
        showing the time a driver reports for duty, the total number of 
        hours a driver is on duty, and the time a driver is released 
        from duty. 
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.141, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 7.  [ELECTRONIC FILING OF FORMS.] The commissioner 
        may permit the electronic filing of insurance, bonds, 
        endorsements, certificates, and other evidence of financial 
        responsibility required in this section or rules adopted under 
        this section.  The electronic filing of a document imposes the 
        same obligations on the person filing the document and has the 
        same legal effect as if the document had been filed on a 
        prescribed form. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 326.338, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [PROTECTIVE AGENT.] A person who for a fee, 
        reward, or other valuable consideration undertakes any of the 
        following acts is considered to be engaged in the business of 
        protective agent: 
           (1) providing guards, private patrol, or other security 
        personnel to protect persons or their property or to prevent the 
        theft, unlawful taking of goods, merchandise, or money, or to 
        prevent the misappropriation or concealment of goods, 
        merchandise, money, or other valuable things, or to procure the 
        return of those things; 
           (2) physically responding to any alarm signal device, 
        burglar alarm, television camera, still camera, or a mechanical 
        or electronic device installed or used to prevent or detect 
        burglary, theft, shoplifting, pilferage, losses, or other 
        security measures; 
           (3) providing armored car services for the protection of 
        persons or property; 
           (4) controlling motor traffic on public streets, roads, and 
        highways for the purpose of escorting a funeral procession and 
        oversized loads; or 
           (5) providing management and control of crowds for the 
        purpose of safety and protection. 
           A person covered by this subdivision may perform the 
        traffic control duties in clause (4) in place of a police 
        officer when a special permit is required, provided that the 
        protective agent is first-aid qualified. 
           Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Section 3 is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor March 25, 1996 
           Signed by the governor March 27, 1996, 11:35 a.m.