Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1996, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
underscored = new language to be added
CHAPTER 455-S.F.No. 2702
An act relating to the organization and operation of
state government; appropriating money to the
department of transportation and other agencies;
providing for speed limits and recording of speeding
violations; authorizing special license plates;
providing for designated parent agreements;
authorizing certain tax levies for replacement transit
service; providing for highway disputes between
counties and municipalities; amending Minnesota
Statutes 1994, sections 115A.9651, subdivision 1;
160.83, by adding a subdivision; 160.85, by adding a
subdivision; 161.085; 161.14, by adding subdivisions;
161.36, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and 4; 161.46,
subdivision 3; 161.53; 162.02, subdivisions 7, 8, and
by adding a subdivision; 162.07, subdivisions 1, 5,
and 6; 162.08, subdivisions 4 and 7; 162.14,
subdivision 6; 168.013, subdivision 3; 168.042,
subdivision 8, and by adding a subdivision; 168.12,
subdivision 2; 168.123, subdivisions 1 and 4; 168.15;
168.33, by adding a subdivision; 169.07; 169.121,
subdivision 3; 169.14, subdivision 2, and by adding a
subdivision; 169.82, subdivision 3; 169.85; 169.871,
by adding a subdivision; 169.983; 169.99, subdivision
1b; 171.05, by adding a subdivision; 171.07, by adding
a subdivision; 171.12, subdivision 6; 171.26; 173.02,
subdivision 6; 173.07, subdivision 1; 174.04; 222.37,
subdivision 1; 260.173, subdivision 2; 473.388,
subdivision 5, and by adding a subdivision; 473.446,
by adding a subdivision; and 524.5-505; Minnesota
Statutes 1995 Supplement, sections 13.69, subdivision
1; 168.1296, subdivision 1; 168.16; 169.862; 171.04,
subdivision 1; 221.0355, subdivisions 5 and 15;
275.065, subdivisions 3 and 6; and 473.446,
subdivisions 1 and 8; Laws 1994, chapter 589, section
8; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapters 161; 168; and 173; proposing coding for new
law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 257A; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 161.086; 161.115,
subdivision 262; and 169.141.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
ARTICLE 1
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
Section 1. [TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS.]
The sums in the columns headed "APPROPRIATIONS" are
appropriated from the general fund, or another named fund, to
the agencies and for the purposes specified, and are added to
appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and
June 30, 1997, in Laws 1995, chapter 265, or other named law.
SUMMARY BY FUND
1996 1997
General Fund $.,...,-0-,... $ 7,640,000
Highway User Tax
Distribution Fund .,...,-0-,... 160,000
Trunk Highway Fund 9,687,000 42,760,000
County State Aid Fund .,...,-0-,... 100,000
Sec. 2. DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION 9,687,000 43,290,000
(a) State Road Construction
9,687,000 35,513,000
The appropriations for fiscal years
1996 and 1997 are from the trunk
highway fund for state road
construction and are added to the
appropriations in Laws 1995, chapter
265, article 2, section 2, subdivision
7, clause (a).
(b) Design Engineering and Construction
Engineering
6,267,000
This appropriation for fiscal year 1997
is from the trunk highway fund for
design engineering and construction
engineering and is added to the
appropriations in Laws 1995, chapter
265, article 2, section 2, subdivision
7, clauses (d) and (e), as needed.
For the purpose of Laws 1995, chapter
254, article 1, section 93, paragraph
(a), "contracts for highway
construction or maintenance" includes
contracts for design engineering and
construction engineering.
(c) Greater Minnesota Transit
Assistance
1,000,000
This appropriation for fiscal year 1997
is for greater Minnesota transit
assistance and is added to the
appropriation in Laws 1995, chapter
265, article 2, section 2, subdivision
3, clause (a). Any unencumbered
balance in that clause for fiscal year
1996 does not cancel but is available
for the second year.
(d) General Management
200,000
$200,000 is appropriated from the
general fund for the purpose of
convening a telecommuting community
dialogue process to gather information
on existing telecommunication systems,
conduct public opinion polls via the
Internet, and develop recommendations
on improving the integration and
coordination of telecommunication
systems. The department shall report
findings and recommendations to the
legislature by February 15, 1997. This
appropriation is available on receipt
by the commissioner of $100,000 of
matching contributions of money from
nonstate sources.* (The preceding text
beginning "(d)" was vetoed by the
governor.)
(e) Shingobee Road
100,000
$100,000 is appropriated from the town
road account in the county state-aid
highway fund before the apportionment
otherwise required to be made under
Minnesota Statutes, section 162.081,
subdivisions 2 and 3, for the purpose
of making a grant to the town of
Shingobee in Cass county to improve the
Ah-Gwah-Ching cutoff road. The
appropriation is available if the
commissioner determines that the
Shingobee town board has made a
commitment to establish the road as a
town road upon completion of the
improvement.
(f) Stone Arch Bridge
110,000
The appropriation is for the repair of
the Stone Arch Bridge.
(g) Driver Education Programs
100,000
This appropriation is for a grant to
the Minnesota highway safety center at
St. Cloud State University for driver
education programs.
Sec. 3. METROPOLITAN COUNCIL 6,000,000
This appropriation for fiscal year 1997
is for metropolitan transit operations
and is added to the appropriation in
Laws 1995, chapter 265, article 2,
section 3.
Notwithstanding the limit on spending
for metro mobility in Laws 1995,
chapter 265, article 2, section 3, the
metropolitan council may spend up to
$1,600,000 of this appropriation for
metro mobility.
Of this appropriation, the council may
spend up to $625,000 in fiscal year
1997 to implement the high-speed bus
demonstration project authorized in
Laws 1995, chapter 265, article 2,
section 3.
Sec. 4. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 1,370,000
Summary by Fund
General ..,-0-,... 230,000
Trunk Highway ..,-0-,... 980,000
Highway User Tax
Distribution Fund ..,-0-,... 160,000
(a) State Patrol
150,000
Of this appropriation, $150,000 is from
the trunk highway fund for four
additional radio communication
operators.
(b) Driver and Vehicle Services
336,000
$14,000 from the highway user tax
distribution fund and $65,000 from the
trunk highway fund are for costs
related to the implementation of
Minnesota Statutes, section 168.042.
$113,000 is from the highway user tax
distribution fund and is added to the
appropriations in Laws 1995, chapter
265, article 2, section 5, subdivision
4. This appropriation is for costs
related to driver's license and motor
vehicle registration records and is
available only to the extent required
to comply with a law effective during
fiscal year 1997 that substantially
changes the data privacy status of
these records.
$111,000 is from the general fund to
implement Minnesota Statutes, section
171.07, subdivision 11.
$33,000 is from the highway user tax
distribution fund for programming costs
related to registration tax refunds for
rental motor vehicles.
(c) Administration and Related Services
884,000
This appropriation for fiscal year 1997
is added to the appropriations in Laws
1995, chapter 265, article 2, section
5, subdivision 2.
This appropriation is for agency
critical operations systems. Of this
appropriation, $765,000 is from the
trunk highway fund.
(d) Critical Habitat Matching
The commissioner of public safety shall
determine whether the fees collected
under Minnesota Statutes, section
168.1296, for critical habitat license
plates have been sufficient to cover
the costs of handling and manufacturing
the license plates during the biennium
ending June 30, 1997. If the fees have
been deficient, the amount of the
deficiency is appropriated from the
Minnesota critical habitat private
sector matching account in the reinvest
in Minnesota resources fund for
transfer to the highway user tax
distribution fund.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.14,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [SPEED LIMITS.] (a) Where no special hazard
exists the following speeds shall be lawful, but any speeds in
excess of such limits shall be prima facie evidence that the
speed is not reasonable or prudent and that it is unlawful;
except that the speed limit within any municipality shall be a
maximum limit and any speed in excess thereof shall be unlawful:
(1) 30 miles per hour in an urban district;
(2) 65 miles per hour in other locations during the daytime
on freeways and expressways, as defined in section 160.02,
subdivision 16, outside the limits of any urbanized area with a
population of greater than 50,000 as defined by order of the
commissioner of transportation;
(3) 55 miles per hour in such other locations during the
nighttime other than those specified in this section;
(4) ten miles per hour in alleys; and
(5) 25 miles per hour in residential roadways if adopted by
the road authority having jurisdiction over the residential
roadway.
(b) A speed limit adopted under paragraph (a), clause (5),
is not effective unless the road authority has erected signs
designating the speed limit and indicating the beginning and end
of the residential roadway on which the speed limit applies.
(c) "Daytime" means from a half hour before sunrise to a
half hour after sunset, except at any time when due to weather
or other conditions there is not sufficient light to render
clearly discernible persons and vehicles at a distance of 500
feet. "Nighttime" means at any other hour or at any time when
due to weather or other conditions there is not sufficient light
to render clearly discernible persons and vehicles at a distance
of 500 feet.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.14, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4a. [ESTABLISHMENT OF SPEEDS ON
HIGHWAYS.] Notwithstanding subdivision 4, the commissioner may
by order designate a maximum lawful speed for freeways and
expressways, as defined in section 160.02, subdivision 16, with
or without an engineering and traffic investigation. The order
may apply to all such highways or to specific highways
identified in the order.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.983, is
amended to read:
169.983 [SPEEDING VIOLATIONS; CREDIT CARD PAYMENT OF
FINES.]
The officer who issues a citation for a violation by a
person who does not reside in Minnesota of section 169.14 or
169.141 shall give the defendant the option to plead guilty to
the violation upon issuance of the citation and to pay the fine
to the issuing officer with a credit card.
The commissioner of public safety shall adopt rules to
implement this section, including specifying the types of credit
cards that may be used.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.99,
subdivision 1b, is amended to read:
Subd. 1b. [SPEED.] The uniform traffic ticket must provide
a blank or space wherein an officer who issues a citation for a
violation of section 169.141 169.14, subdivision 2, paragraph
(a), clause (3), must specify whether the speed was greater than
ten miles per hour in excess of the lawful speed designated
under that section.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.12,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [CERTAIN CONVICTIONS NOT RECORDED.] The
department shall not keep on the record of a driver any
conviction for a violation of section 169.141 169.14,
subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (3), unless the violation
consisted of a speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess
of the lawful speed designated under that section.
Sec. 10. [DRIVER'S LICENSE FEES; DEPOSIT IN GENERAL FUND.]
Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 171.26, up to
$100,000 in revenues received under Minnesota Statutes, chapter
171, in fiscal year 1997 shall be deposited in the general
fund. This deposit is in addition to any deposit of revenue in
the general fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 171.07,
subdivision 11.
Sec. 11. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.141, is repealed. Any
order issued under that section is void.
Sec. 12. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
(a) Any provision making an appropriation for fiscal year
1996 is effective the day following final enactment.
(b) Section 10 is effective July 1, 1996.
(c) Sections 5 to 9 and 11 are effective May 1, 1996.
ARTICLE 2
TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
Section 1. The sums in the column under "APPROPRIATIONS" are
appropriated from the trunk highway fund to the state agencies
or officials indicated, to be spent to acquire and to better
public land and buildings and other public improvements of a
capital nature, as specified in this article.
APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 2. FACILITY PROJECTS 21,639,000
This appropriation is from the trunk
highway fund to the commissioner of
transportation for the purposes
specified in paragraphs (a) and (b).
(a) Trunk Highway
Facility Projects 20,454,000
(1) For construction documents, construction,
furnishing, and equipping of Bemidji
headquarters building to replace the existing
facility. The new facility will house the district
staff, support services, design, construction,
right-of-way, materials engineering, maintenance,
radio shop, inventory center, vehicle maintenance,
vehicle storage, bridge maintenance, and building
services 9,000,000
(2) Repair, replace, construct, or develop
additions to chemical and salt storage buildings
at 29 department of transportation locations
statewide 1,000,000
(3) For schematic design, design
development, construction documents, construction,
furnishing, and equipping of an addition to the
Rochester district office and state patrol center 1,260,000
(4) Construct, furnish, and equip a new
equipment storage building on a new site in
Pipestone to replace the existing facility 520,000
(5) Construct, furnish, and equip a new
equipment storage building on a new site in
Deer Lake to combine and replace existing
operations at Togo and Effie 644,000
(6) Construct, furnish, and equip a new
equipment storage building on a new site in
Rushford to replace the existing facility 663,000
(7) For construction documents, construction,
furnishing, and equipping of an addition to the
central services building at Fort Snelling for
heated storage 855,000
(8) Schematic design, design development,
and construction documents for projects
at Duluth, St. Cloud, Jordan, Fort Snelling,
Golden Valley, and a new record building 677,000
(9) Design, construction, equipping, and
furnishing of an addition to the Garrison truck
station and related improvements 206,000
(10) For construction documents, construction,
furnishing, and equipping of an addition
to the Hastings truck station 1,362,000
(11) Construct, furnish, and equip a new
equipment storage building on a new site in
Gaylord to replace the existing facility 680,000
(12) Remove asbestos from various
department of transportation buildings statewide 200,000
(13) Construct, furnish, and equip a new
equipment storage building on a new site
in Hibbing to replace the existing facility.
Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.33, does not
apply to this project 1,237,000
(14) Design, construction, equipping, and
furnishing of an addition to the Long
Prairie truck station and related improvements 215,000
(15) Design, construction, equipping, and
furnishing of an addition to the Forest
Lake truck station and related improvements 451,000
(16) Design, construction, equipping, and
furnishing of an addition to the Erskine
truck station and related improvements 300,000
(17) Design, construction, equipping, and
furnishing of an addition to the Dilworth
truck station and related improvements 514,000
(18) Construct, furnish, and equip class
II safety rest areas in Fillmore county,
Cook county, and Kanabec county 120,000
(19) Construct pole-type storage buildings
at department of transportation locations
throughout the state 350,000
(20) Land acquisition at Fort Snelling
next to the central services complex when
it is made available as surplus property
by the federal government 200,000
(21) Clauses (1) to (19)
are exempt from the requirements
of Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.335.
(b) Public Safety Project 1,185,000
$1,185,000 is appropriated from the
trunk highway fund for capital
improvements to license exam stations,
grounds, and facilities at Arden Hills,
Eagan, and Plymouth.
Sec. 3. [DESIGN-BUILD METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION.]
Beginning with the capital budget projects approved by law
in 1996, the commissioner of administration or the commissioner
of transportation may use a design-build method of project
development and construction for projects to construct new
vehicle and equipment storage or maintenance facilities.
"Design-build method of project development and construction"
means a project delivery system in which a single contractor is
responsible for both the design and the construction of the
project. The commissioner of administration or the commissioner
of transportation may select the projects that will be
constructed using the design-build method. Minnesota Statutes,
section 16B.33, does not apply to the projects selected. The
commissioners are requested to report to the legislature on the
use of the design-build method, including comparative cost
analysis, quality of product obtained, advantages and
disadvantages of using this method, and the commissioners'
recommendations for further use of the design-build method.
Sec. 4. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 3 are effective July 1, 1996.
ARTICLE 3
HIGHWAYS AND DRIVERS' LICENSES
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115A.9651,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [PROHIBITION.] (a) Except as provided in
paragraph (d), no person may distribute for sale or use in this
state any ink, dye, pigment, paint, or fungicide manufactured
after September 1, 1994, into which lead, cadmium, mercury, or
hexavalent chromium has been intentionally introduced.
(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, "intentionally
introduce" means to deliberately use a metal listed in paragraph
(a) as an element during manufacture or distribution of an item
listed in paragraph (a). Intentional introduction does not
include the incidental presence of any of the prohibited
elements.
(c) The concentration of a listed metal in an item listed
in paragraph (a) may not exceed 100 parts per million.
(d) The prohibition on the use of lead in substances
utilized in marking road, street, highway, and bridge pavements
does not take effect until July 1, 1998.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 160.83, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [LIABILITY.] A rustic road may be maintained at a
level less than the minimum standards required for state-aid
highways, roads, and streets, but must be maintained at the
level required to serve anticipated traffic volumes. Where a
road has been designated by resolution as a rustic road and
speed limits have been posted under subdivision 1, the road
authority with jurisdiction over the road, and its officers and
employees, are exempt from liability for any tort claim for
injury to person or property arising from travel on the rustic
road related to its maintenance, design, or condition if:
(1) the maintenance, design, or condition is consistent
with the anticipated use as described in subdivision 2; and
(2) the maintenance, design, or condition is not grossly
negligent.
Nothing in this subdivision exempts a road authority from
its duty to maintain bridges under chapter 165 or other
applicable law.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 160.85, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3a. [INFORMATION MEETING.] Before approving or
denying a development agreement, the commissioner shall hold a
public information meeting in any municipality or county in
which any portion of the proposed toll facility runs. The
commissioner shall determine the time and place of the
information meeting.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.085, is
amended to read:
161.085 [APPROPRIATION FROM TURNBACK ACCOUNTS.]
Moneys in the county turnback account and the municipal
turnback account are hereby appropriated annually to the
commissioner of transportation for the purposes of carrying out
the terms of sections 161.081 to 161.086 161.084.
Sec. 5. [161.139] [HIGHWAY DESIGNATION COSTS.]
The commissioner shall not adopt a design or erect a sign
to mark or memorialize a highway or bridge, pursuant to
designation by the legislature on or after January 1, 1996,
unless the commissioner is assured of the availability of funds
from nonstate sources sufficient to pay all costs related to
designing, erecting, and maintaining the signs.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.14, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 37. [VICTORY DRIVE.] Marked trunk highway No. 22,
from its intersection with marked trunk highways Nos. 14 and 60
in the city of Mankato to its intersection with marked trunk
highway No. 30 in the city of Mapleton, is designated "Victory
Drive." The commissioner of transportation shall adopt a
suitable design for marking this highway and shall erect
appropriate signs at locations the commissioner determines. The
people of the community, having resolved to support and
financially back the marking of this highway, shall reimburse
the department for costs incurred in marking and memorializing
this highway.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.14, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 38. [VETERANS MEMORIAL HIGHWAY.] Marked trunk
highway No. 15, from its intersection with marked trunk highway
No. 60 to its intersection with the Iowa border, is designated
"Veterans Memorial Highway." The commissioner of transportation
shall adopt a suitable design for marking this highway and shall
erect appropriate signs at locations the commissioner
determines. The people of the community, having resolved to
support and financially back the marking of this highway, shall
reimburse the department for costs incurred in marking and
memorializing this highway.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.14, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 39. [DALE WAYRYNEN MEMORIAL HIGHWAY.] That segment
of marked trunk highway No. 210 located within Aitkin county is
designated "Dale Wayrynen Memorial Highway." The commissioner
of transportation shall erect appropriate signs after adopting a
marking design for the signs, which suitably commemorates Dale
Wayrynen, posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of
Honor, for heroism displayed during the Vietnam War. The people
of the community, having resolved to support and financially
back the marking of this highway, shall reimburse the department
for costs incurred in marking and memorializing this highway.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.36,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [COMMISSIONER TO COOPERATE WITH THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT.] The commissioner may cooperate with the government
of the United States and any agency or department thereof in the
construction, improvement, enhancement, and maintenance of roads
and bridges transportation in the state of Minnesota and may
comply with the provisions of the laws of the United States and
any rules and regulations made thereunder for the expenditure of
federal moneys upon such roads and bridges.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.36,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [FEDERAL AID, ACCEPTANCE; COMMISSIONER AS AGENT.]
The commissioner may accept federal moneys and other moneys,
either public or private, for and in behalf of the state of
Minnesota or any governmental subdivision thereof, or any
nonpublic organization, for the construction, improvement,
enhancement, or maintenance of roads and bridges transportation
upon such terms and conditions as are or may be prescribed by
the laws of the United States and any rules or regulations made
thereunder, and is authorized to act as an agent of any that
governmental subdivision of the state of Minnesota or nonpublic
organization upon the its request of such subdivision in
accepting the moneys in its behalf for road or
bridge transportation purposes, in acquiring right-of-way
therefor, and in contracting for the construction,
improvement, enhancement, or maintenance of roads or
bridges transportation financed either in whole or in part by
federal moneys. The governing body of any such subdivision or
nonpublic organization is authorized to designate the
commissioner as its agent for such purposes and to enter into an
agreement with the commissioner prescribing the terms and
conditions of the agency in accordance herewith and with federal
laws, rules and regulations.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.36,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [COMMISSIONER AS AGENT IN CERTAIN CASES.] The
commissioner may act as the agent of any political subdivision
of the state, or any nonpublic organization, as provided herein,
for the construction of roads and bridges transportation toward
the construction of which no federal aid is available in the
event that the construction adjoins, is connected, or in the
judgment of the commissioner can be best and most economically
performed in connection with construction upon which federal aid
is available and upon which the commissioner is then acting as
agent.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.36,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [STATE LAWS TO GOVERN.] All contracts for the
construction, improvement, enhancement, or maintenance of roads
or bridges transportation made by the commissioner as the agent
of any governmental subdivision, or any nonpublic organization,
shall be made pursuant to the laws of the state of Minnesota
governing the making of contracts for the construction,
improvement, enhancement, and maintenance of roads and
bridges transportation on the trunk highway system of the state;
provided, where the construction, improvement, enhancement, or
maintenance of any road or bridge transportation is financed
wholly with federal moneys, the commissioner as the agent of any
the governmental subdivision or nonpublic organization may let
contracts in the manner prescribed by the federal authorities
acting under the laws of the United States and any rules or
regulations made thereunder, notwithstanding any state law to
the contrary.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.46,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [LUMP SUM SETTLEMENTS.] The commissioner may
enter into agreements with a utility for the relocation of
utility facilities providing for the payment by the state of a
lump sum based on the estimated cost of relocation when the lump
sum so agreed upon does not exceed $25,000 $100,000.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.53, is
amended to read:
161.53 [RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.]
The commissioner may set aside for transportation research
in each fiscal year up to one two percent of the total amount of
all funds appropriated to the commissioner other than county
state-aid and municipal state-aid highway funds for
transportation research including public and private research
partnerships. The commissioner shall spend this money for (1)
research to improve the design, construction, maintenance,
management, and environmental compatibility of transportation
systems; (2) research on transportation policies that enhance
energy efficiency and economic development; (3) programs for
implementing and monitoring research results; and (4)
development of transportation education and outreach
activities. Of all funds appropriated to the commissioner other
than state-aid funds, the commissioner shall spend 0.1 percent,
but not exceeding $800,000 in any fiscal year, for research and
related activities performed by the center for transportation
studies of the University of Minnesota. The center shall
establish a technology transfer and training center for
Minnesota transportation professionals.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.08,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [PURPOSES; OTHER USES OF MUNICIPAL ACCOUNT
ALLOCATION.] (a) Except as provided in subdivision 3, money so
apportioned and allocated to each county shall be used for aid
in the establishment, location, construction, reconstruction,
improvement, and maintenance of the county state-aid highway
system within each county, including the expense of sidewalks,
commissioner-approved signals and safety devices on county
state-aid highways, and systems that permit an emergency vehicle
operator to activate a green traffic signal for the emergency
vehicle; provided, that in the event of hardship, or in the
event that the county state-aid highway system of any county is
improved to the standards set forth in the commissioner's rules,
a portion of the money apportioned other than the money
allocated for expenditures within cities having a population of
less than 5,000, may be used on other roads within the county
with the consent and in accordance with the commissioner's rules.
(b) If the portion of the county state-aid highway system
lying within cities having a population of less than 5,000 is
improved to the standard set forth in the commissioner's rules,
a portion of the money credited to the municipal account may be
used on other county highways or other streets lying within such
cities. Upon the authorization of the commissioner, a county
may expend accumulated municipal account funds on county
state-aid highways within the county outside of cities having a
population of less than 5,000. The commissioner shall authorize
the expenditure if:
(a) (1) the county submits a written request to the
commissioner and holds a hearing within 30 days of the request
to receive and consider any objections by the governing bodies
of cities within the county having a population of less than
5,000; and
(b) (2) no written objection is filed with the commissioner
by any such city within 14 days of that hearing as provided in
this subdivision.
The county shall notify all of the cities of the public
hearing by certified mail and shall notify the commissioner in
writing of the results of the hearing and any objections to the
use of the funds as requested by the county.
(c) If, within 14 days of the hearing under paragraph (b),
a city having a population of less than 5,000 files a written
objection with the commissioner identifying a specific county
state-aid highway within the city which is requested for
improvement, the commissioner shall investigate the nature of
the requested improvement. Notwithstanding paragraph (b)
clause (b) (2), the commissioner may authorize the expenditure
requested by the county if:
(1) the identified highway is not deficient in meeting
minimum state-aid street standards; or
(2) the county shows evidence that the identified highway
has been programmed for construction in the county's five-year
capital improvement budget in a manner consistent with the
county's transportation plan; or
(3) there are conditions created by or within the city and
beyond the control of the county that prohibit programming or
constructing the identified highway.
(d) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of paragraph
(b) or (c), accumulated balances in excess of two years of
municipal account apportionments may be spent on projects
located outside of municipalities under 5,000 population when
approved solely by resolution of the county board.
(e) Authorization by the commissioner for use of municipal
account funds on county state-aid highways outside of cities
having a population of less than 5,000 shall be applicable only
to the county's accumulated and current year allocation. Future
municipal account allocations shall be used as directed by law
unless subsequent requests are made by the county and
approved by the commissioner, or approved by resolution of the
county board, as applicable, in accordance with the applicable
provisions of this section.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.08,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [ADVANCES OTHER THAN TO MUNICIPAL ACCOUNT.] Any
county may make advances from any available funds for the
purpose of expediting the construction, reconstruction,
improvement and maintenance of its county state-aid highway
system. Total advances, together with any advances to the
municipal account, as provided in subdivisions 5 and 6, shall
never exceed 40 percent of the county's last apportionment
preceding the first advance. Advances made by any county as
provided herein, other than advances made to the municipal
account, shall be repaid out of subsequent apportionments to the
county's maintenance or construction account in accordance with
the commissioner's rules.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.14,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [ADVANCES.] Any such city, except cities of the
first class, may make advances from any funds available to it
for the purpose of expediting the construction, reconstruction,
improvement, or maintenance of its municipal state-aid street
system; provided that such advances shall not exceed the city's
total estimated apportionment for the three years following the
year the advance is made. Advances made by any such city shall
be repaid out of subsequent apportionments made to such city in
accordance with the commissioner's rules.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.013,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [APPLICATION; CANCELLATION; EXCESSIVE GROSS
WEIGHTS FORBIDDEN.] The applicant for all licenses based on
gross weight shall state in writing upon oath, the unloaded
weight of the motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer and the
maximum load the applicant proposes to carry thereon, the sum of
which shall constitute the gross weight upon which the license
tax shall be paid, but in no case shall the declared gross
weight upon which the tax is paid be less than 1-1/4 times the
declared unloaded weight of the motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer to be registered, except recreational vehicles taxed
under subdivision 1g, school buses taxed under subdivision 18
and tow trucks or towing vehicles defined in section 169.01,
subdivision 52. The gross weight of a tow truck or towing
vehicle is the actual weight of the tow truck or towing vehicle
fully equipped, but does not include the weight of a wrecked or
disabled vehicle towed or drawn by the tow truck or towing
vehicle.
The gross weight of no motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer shall exceed the gross weight upon which the license
tax has been paid by more than four percent or 1,000 pounds,
whichever is greater.
The gross weight of the motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer for which the license tax is paid shall be indicated
by a distinctive character on the license plate or plates except
as provided in subdivision 12 and the plate or plates shall be
kept clean and clearly visible at all times.
The owner, driver, or user of a motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer upon conviction for transporting a gross weight in
excess of the gross weight for which it was registered or for
operating a vehicle with an axle weight exceeding the maximum
lawful axle load weight shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be
subject to increased registration or reregistration according to
the following schedule:
(1) The owner, driver or user of a motor vehicle, trailer
or semitrailer upon conviction for transporting a gross weight
in excess of the gross weight for which it is registered by more
than four percent or 1,000 pounds, whichever is greater, but
less than 25 percent or for operating or using a motor vehicle,
trailer or semitrailer with an axle weight exceeding the maximum
lawful axle load as provided in section 169.825 by more than
four percent or 1,000 pounds, whichever is greater, but less
than 25 percent, in addition to any penalty imposed for the
misdemeanor shall apply to the registrar to increase the
authorized gross weight to be carried on the vehicle to a weight
equal to or greater than the gross weight the owner, driver, or
user was convicted of carrying, the increase computed for the
balance of the calendar year on the basis of 1/12 of the annual
tax for each month remaining in the calendar year beginning with
the first day of the month in which the violation occurred. If
the additional registration tax computed upon that weight, plus
the tax already paid, amounts to more than the regular tax for
the maximum gross weight permitted for the vehicle under section
169.825, that additional amount shall nevertheless be paid into
the highway fund, but the additional tax thus paid shall not
permit the vehicle to be operated with a gross weight in excess
of the maximum legal weight as provided by section 169.825.
Unless the owner within 30 days after a conviction shall apply
to increase the authorized weight and pay the additional tax as
provided in this section, the registrar shall revoke the
registration on the vehicle and demand the return of the
registration card and plates issued on that registration.
(2) The owner or driver or user of a motor vehicle, trailer
or semitrailer upon conviction for transporting a gross weight
in excess of the gross weight for which the motor vehicle,
trailer or semitrailer was registered by 25 percent or more, or
for operating or using a vehicle or trailer with an axle weight
exceeding the maximum lawful axle load as provided in section
169.825 by 25 percent or more, in addition to any penalty
imposed for the misdemeanor, shall have the reciprocity
privileges on the vehicle involved if the vehicle is being
operated under reciprocity canceled by the registrar, or if the
vehicle is not being operated under reciprocity, the certificate
of registration on the vehicle operated shall be canceled by the
registrar and the registrar shall demand the return of the
registration certificate and registration plates. The registrar
may not cancel the registration or reciprocity privileges for
any vehicle found in violation of seasonal load restrictions
imposed under section 169.87 unless the axle weight exceeds the
year-round weight limit for the highway on which the violation
occurred. The registrar may investigate any allegation of gross
weight violations and demand that the operator show cause why
all future operating privileges in the state should not be
revoked unless the additional tax assessed is paid.
(3) Clause (1) does not apply to the first haul of
unprocessed or raw farm products or unfinished forest products,
when the registered gross weight is not exceeded by more than
ten percent. For purposes of this clause, "first haul" means (1)
the first, continuous transportation of unprocessed or raw farm
products from the place of production or on-farm storage site to
any other location within 50 miles of the place of production or
on-farm storage site, or (2) the first, continuous
transportation of unfinished forest products from the place of
production to the place of first unloading.
(4) When the registration on a motor vehicle, trailer or
semitrailer is revoked by the registrar according to provisions
of this section, the vehicle shall not be operated on the
highways of the state until it is registered or reregistered, as
the case may be, and new plates issued, and the registration fee
shall be the annual tax for the total gross weight of the
vehicle at the time of violation. The reregistration pursuant
to this subdivision of any vehicle operating under reciprocity
agreements pursuant to section 168.181 or 168.187 shall be at
the full annual registration fee without regard to the
percentage of vehicle miles traveled in this state.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.07, is
amended to read:
169.07 [UNAUTHORIZED SIGNS.]
No person shall place, maintain, or display upon or in view
of any highway any unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device
which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles an
official traffic-control device or railroad sign or signal, or
which attempts to direct the movement of traffic, or which hides
from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official
traffic-control device or any railroad sign or signal, and no
person shall place or maintain, nor shall any public authority
permit, upon any highway any traffic sign or signal bearing
thereon any commercial advertising. This shall not be deemed to
prohibit (1) the erection upon private property adjacent to
highways of signs giving useful directional information and of a
type that cannot be mistaken for official signs, or (2) the
temporary placement by auctioneers licensed or exempt from
licensing under section 330.01, for a period of not more than
eight consecutive hours, on or adjacent to the right-of-way of a
highway not more than four signs directing motorists to the
location of an auction. The signs must conform to standards for
size, content, placement, and location for such signs
promulgated by the commissioner of transportation. The rules
may require a permit for each such sign but no fee may be
charged for the permit.
Every such prohibited sign, signal, or marking is hereby
declared to be a public nuisance, and the authority having
jurisdiction over the highways is hereby empowered to remove the
same, or cause it to be removed, without notice.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.82,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [HITCHES; CHAINS; CABLES.] (a) Every trailer or
semitrailer must be hitched to the towing motor vehicle by a
device approved by the commissioner of public safety.
(b) Every trailer and semitrailer must be equipped with
safety chains or cables permanently attached to the trailer
except in cases where the coupling device is a regulation fifth
wheel and kingpin assembly approved by the commissioner of
public safety. In towing, the chains or cables must be carried
through a ring on the towbar and attached to the towing attached
to the vehicles near the points of bumper attachments to the
chassis of each vehicle, and must be of sufficient strength to
control the trailer in the event of failure of the towing
device. The length of chain or cable must be no more than
necessary to permit free turning of the vehicles.
(c) This subdivision does not apply to towed implements of
husbandry.
No person may be charged with a violation of this section
solely by reason of violating a maximum speed prescribed in
section 169.145 or 169.67.
Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.85, is
amended to read:
169.85 [WEIGHING; PENALTY.]
The driver of a vehicle which has been lawfully stopped may
be required by a peace officer to submit the vehicle and load to
a weighing by means of portable or stationary scales, and the
peace officer may require that the vehicle be driven to the
nearest available scales if the distance to the scales is no
further than five miles, or if the distance from the point where
the vehicle is stopped to the vehicle's destination is not
increased by more than ten miles as a result of proceeding to
the nearest available scales. Official traffic control devices
as authorized by section 169.06 may be used to direct the driver
to the nearest scale. When a truck weight enforcement operation
is conducted by means of portable or stationary scales and signs
giving notice of the operation are posted within the highway
right-of-way and adjacent to the roadway within two miles of the
operation, the driver of a truck or combination of vehicles
registered for or weighing in excess of 12,000 pounds, and the
driver of a charter bus, except a bus registered in Minnesota,
shall proceed to the scale site and submit the vehicle to
weighing and inspection.
Upon weighing a vehicle and load, as provided in this
section, an officer may require the driver to stop the vehicle
in a suitable place and remain standing until a portion of the
load is removed that is sufficient to reduce the gross weight of
the vehicle to the limit permitted under section 169.825. A
suitable place is a location where loading or tampering with the
load is not prohibited by federal, state, or local law, rule or
ordinance. A driver may be required to unload a vehicle only if
the weighing officer determines that (a) on routes subject to
the provisions of section 169.825, the weight on an axle exceeds
the lawful gross weight prescribed by section 169.825, by 2,000
pounds or more, or the weight on a group of two or more
consecutive axles in cases where the distance between the
centers of the first and last axles of the group under
consideration is ten feet or less exceeds the lawful gross
weight prescribed by section 169.825, by 4,000 pounds or more;
or (b) on routes designated by the commissioner in section
169.832, subdivision 11, the overall weight of the vehicle or
the weight on an axle or group of consecutive axles exceeds the
maximum lawful gross weights prescribed by section 169.825; or
(c) the weight is unlawful on an axle or group of consecutive
axles on a road restricted in accordance with section 169.87.
Material unloaded must be cared for by the owner or driver of
the vehicle at the risk of the owner or driver.
A driver of a vehicle who fails or refuses to stop and
submit the vehicle and load to a weighing as required in this
section, or who fails or refuses, when directed by an officer
upon a weighing of the vehicle, to stop the vehicle and
otherwise comply with the provisions of this section, is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
169.862, is amended to read:
169.862 [PERMITS FOR WIDE LOADS OF BALED AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS.]
The commissioner of transportation with respect to highways
under the commissioner's jurisdiction, and local authorities
with respect to highways under their jurisdiction, may issue an
annual permit to enable a vehicle carrying round bales of hay,
straw, or cornstalks, with a total outside width of the vehicle
or the load not exceeding 11-1/2 feet, to be operated on public
streets and highways. The commissioner of transportation and
local authorities may issue an annual permit to enable a
vehicle, having a maximum width of 102 inches, carrying a first
haul of square bales of straw, each bale having a minimum size
of four feet by four feet by eight feet, with a total outside
width of the load not exceeding 12 feet, to be operated on
public streets and highways between August 1 and December March
1 within 35 miles of the border between this state and the state
of North Dakota. The commissioner of transportation and local
authorities may issue an annual permit to enable a vehicle
carrying square bales of hay, each with an outside dimension of
not less than three feet by four feet by seven feet, with a
total height of the loaded vehicle not exceeding 15 feet, to be
operated on those public streets and highways designated in the
permit. Permits issued under this section are governed by the
applicable provisions of section 169.86 except as otherwise
provided herein and, in addition, carry the following
restrictions:
(a) The vehicles may not be operated between sunset and
sunrise, when visibility is impaired by weather, fog, or other
conditions rendering persons and vehicles not clearly visible at
a distance of 500 feet, or on Sunday from noon until sunset, or
on the days the following holidays are observed: New Year's
Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving
Day, and Christmas Day.
(b) The vehicles may not be operated on interstate highways.
(c) The vehicles may not be operated on a trunk highway
with a pavement less than 24 feet wide.
(d) A vehicle operated under the permit must be equipped
with a retractable or removable mirror on the left side so
located that it will reflect to the driver a clear view of the
highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the
vehicle.
(e) A vehicle operated under the permit must display red,
orange, or yellow flags, 18 inches square, as markers at the
front and rear and on both sides of the load. The load must be
securely bound to the transporting vehicle.
(f) Farm vehicles not for hire carrying round baled hay
less than 20 miles are exempt from the requirement to obtain a
permit. All other requirements of this section apply to
vehicles transporting round baled hay.
The fee for the permit is $24.
Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.871, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1b. [CIVIL PENALTY FOR FIRST TWO VIOLATIONS.]
Notwithstanding subdivision 1, clauses (a) to (e), a civil
penalty under subdivision 1 for a violation in a motor vehicle
in the course of a first haul as defined in section 168.013,
subdivision 3, clause (3), of a weight limit imposed under
sections 169.825, 169.832 to 169.851, and 169.87 that is not
preceded by two or more violations of the gross weight limits in
those sections in that motor vehicle within the previous 12
months, may not exceed $150.
Sec. 24. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
171.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [PERSONS NOT ELIGIBLE.] The department
shall not issue a driver's license hereunder:
(1) To any person who is under the age of 16 years; to any
person under 18 years unless such person shall have successfully
completed a course in driver education, including both classroom
and behind-the-wheel instruction, approved by the state board of
education for courses offered through the public schools, or, in
the case of a course offered by a private, commercial driver
education school or institute, by the department of public
safety; except when such person has completed a course of driver
education in another state or has a previously issued valid
license from another state or country; nor to any person under
18 years unless the application of license is approved by either
parent when both reside in the same household as the minor
applicant, otherwise the parent or spouse of the parent having
custody or with whom the minor is living in the event there is
no court order for custody, or guardian having the custody of
such minor, or in the event a person under the age of 18 has no
living father, mother or guardian, the license shall not be
issued to such person unless the application therefor is
approved by the person's employer. Driver education courses
offered in any public school shall be open for enrollment to
persons between the ages of 15 and 18 years residing in the
school district or attending school therein. Any public school
offering driver education courses may charge an enrollment fee
for the driver education course which shall not exceed the
actual cost thereof to the public school and the school
district. The approval required herein shall contain a
verification of the age of the applicant;
(2) To any person who is under the age of 18 years unless
the person has applied for, been issued, and possessed the
appropriate instruction permit for a minimum of six months;
(3) To any person whose license has been suspended during
the period of suspension except that a suspended license may be
reinstated during the period of suspension upon the licensee
furnishing proof of financial responsibility in the same manner
as provided in the Minnesota no-fault automobile insurance act;
(3) (4) To any person whose license has been revoked except
upon furnishing proof of financial responsibility in the same
manner as provided in the Minnesota no-fault automobile
insurance act and if otherwise qualified;
(4) (5) To any person who is a drug dependent person as
defined in section 254A.02, subdivision 5;
(5) (6) To any person who has been adjudged legally
incompetent by reason of mental illness, mental deficiency, or
inebriation, and has not been restored to capacity, unless the
department is satisfied that such person is competent to operate
a motor vehicle with safety to persons or property;
(6) (7) To any person who is required by this chapter to
take an examination, unless such person shall have successfully
passed such examination;
(7) (8) To any person who is required under the provisions
of the Minnesota no-fault automobile insurance act of this state
to deposit proof of financial responsibility and who has not
deposited such proof;
(8) (9) To any person when the commissioner has good cause
to believe that the operation of a motor vehicle on the highways
by such person would be inimical to public safety or welfare;
(9) (10) To any person when, in the opinion of the
commissioner, such person is afflicted with or suffering from
such physical or mental disability or disease as will affect
such person in a manner to prevent the person from exercising
reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle while
operating the same upon the highways; nor to a person who is
unable to read and understand official signs regulating,
warning, and directing traffic;
(10) (11) To a child for whom a court has ordered denial of
driving privileges under section 260.191, subdivision 1, or
260.195, subdivision 3a, until the period of denial is
completed; or
(11) (12) To any person whose license has been canceled,
during the period of cancellation.
Sec. 25. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.05, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. [PERMIT FOR SIX MONTHS.] An applicant who has
applied for and received an instruction permit pursuant to
subdivision 2 must possess the instruction permit for not less
than six months before qualifying for a driver's license.
Sec. 26. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 173.02,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [VARIOUS SIGNS AND NOTICES DEFINED.] Directional
and other official signs and notices shall mean:
(a) "Official signs and notices" mean signs and notices
erected and maintained by public officers or public agencies
within their territorial jurisdiction and pursuant to and in
accordance with direction or authorization contained in federal
or state law for the purposes of carrying out an official duty
or responsibility. Historical markers authorized by state law
and erected by state or local governmental agencies or nonprofit
historical societies and, star city signs erected under section
173.085, and municipal identification entrance signs erected in
accordance with section 173.025 may be considered official signs.
(b) "Public utility signs" mean warning signs, notices, or
markers which are customarily erected and maintained by publicly
or privately owned public utilities, as essential to their
operations.
(c) "Service club and religious notices" mean signs and
notices, not exceeding eight square feet in advertising area,
whose erection is authorized by law, relating to meetings and
location of nonprofit service clubs or charitable associations,
or religious services.
(d) "Directional signs" means signs containing directional
information about public places owned or operated by federal,
state, or local governments or their agencies, publicly or
privately owned natural phenomena, historic, cultural,
scientific, educational, and religious sites, and areas of
natural scenic beauty or naturally suited for outdoor
recreation, deemed to be in the interest of the traveling
public. To qualify for directional signs, privately owned
attractions must be nationally or regionally known, and of
outstanding interest to the traveling public.
(e) All definitions in this subdivision are intended to be
in conformity with the national standards for directional and
other official signs.
Sec. 27. [173.025] [MUNICIPAL IDENTIFICATION SIGNS.]
A local road authority may erect a municipal identification
entrance sign within the right-of-way of a trunk highway with
the written permission of the commissioner. Municipal
identification entrance signs erected without the written
permission of the commissioner are prohibited.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 173.07,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [FORMS; CONTENT; IDENTIFYING NUMBER.]
Application for permits or renewals thereof for the placement
and maintenance of advertising devices within scenic areas shall
be on forms prescribed by the commissioner and shall contain
such information as the commissioner may require. No
advertising device shall be placed without the consent of the
owner or occupant of the land, and adequate proof of such
consent shall be submitted to the commissioner at the time
application is made for such permits or renewals. There shall
be furnished with each permit an identifying number which shall
be affixed by the permit holder to the advertising device in
accordance with rules of the commissioner of transportation.
Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 174.04, is
amended to read:
174.04 [FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE; APPLICATIONS; DISBURSEMENT.]
Subdivision 1. [REVIEW OF APPLICATION.] Any state agency
which receives an application from a regional development
commission, metropolitan council, public transit commission,
airport commission, port authority or other political
subdivision of the state, or any nonpublic organization, for
financial assistance for transportation planning, capital
expenditures or operations to any state or federal agency, shall
first submit the application to the commissioner of
transportation. The commissioner shall review the application
to determine whether it contains matters that substantially
affect the statewide transportation plan and priorities. If the
application does not contain such matters, the commissioner
shall within 15 days after receipt return the application to the
applicant political subdivision or nonpublic organization for
forwarding to the appropriate agency. If the application
contains such matters, the commissioner shall review and comment
on the application as being consistent with the plan and
priorities. The commissioner shall return the application
together with comments within 45 days after receipt to the
applicant political subdivision or nonpublic organization for
forwarding with the commissioner's comments to the appropriate
agency.
Subd. 2. [DESIGNATED AGENT.] A regional development
commission, metropolitan council, public transit commission,
airport commission, port authority, or any other political
subdivision of the state, or any nonpublic organization, may
designate the commissioner as its agent to receive and disburse
funds by entering into an agreement with the commissioner
prescribing the terms and conditions of the receipt and
expenditure of the funds in accordance with federal and state
laws, rules, and regulations.
Subd. 3. [EXCEPTIONS.] The provisions of this section
shall not be construed as altering or amending in any way the
funding procedures specified in section 161.36, 360.016 or
360.0161.
Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, 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 incurred by the commissioner 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 1997, and is
subject to the provisions of section 221.035 until it expires.
Sec. 31. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
221.0355, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
Subd. 15. [HAZARDOUS WASTE LICENSES.] (a) From October 1,
1994, until August 1, 1996 1997, 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. 32. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 222.37,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [USE REQUIREMENTS.] Any water power,
telegraph, telephone, pneumatic tube, pipeline, community
antenna television, cable communications or electric light,
heat, or power company, or fire department may use public roads
for the purpose of constructing, using, operating, and
maintaining lines, subways, canals, or conduits, hydrants, or
dry hydrants, for their business, but such lines shall be so
located as in no way to interfere with the safety and
convenience of ordinary travel along or over the same; and, in
the construction and maintenance of such line, subway, canal, or
conduit, hydrants, or dry hydrants, the company shall be subject
to all reasonable regulations imposed by the governing body of
any county, town or city in which such public road may be. If
the governing body does not require the company to obtain a
permit, a company shall notify the governing body of any county,
town, or city having jurisdiction over a public road prior to
the construction or major repair, involving extensive excavation
on the road right-of-way, of the company's equipment along,
over, or under the public road, unless the governing body waives
the notice requirement. A waiver of the notice requirement must
be renewed on an annual basis. For emergency repair a company
shall notify the governing body as soon as practical after the
repair is made. Nothing herein shall be construed to grant to
any person any rights for the maintenance of a telegraph,
telephone, pneumatic tube, community antenna television system,
cable communications system, or light, heat, or power system, or
hydrant system within the corporate limits of any city until
such person shall have obtained the right to maintain such
system within such city or for a period beyond that for which
the right to operate such system is granted by such city.
Sec. 33. Laws 1994, chapter 589, section 8, is amended to
read:
Sec. 8. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 221.033, subdivision 4, is
repealed. Section 5 is repealed effective August 1, 1996 1997.
Sec. 34. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 161.086; and 161.115,
subdivision 262, are repealed.
Sec. 35. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 24 and 25 are effective February 1, 1997.
Sections 5 to 8 are effective the day following final
enactment. Section 14 is effective July 1, 1996.
ARTICLE 4
MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.042,
subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [REISSUANCE OF REGISTRATION PLATES.] (a) The
commissioner shall rescind the impoundment order of a person
subject to an order under this section, other than the violator,
if a:
(1) the violator had a valid driver's license on the date
of the violation and the person subject to an impoundment order
under this section, other than the violator, files with the
commissioner an acceptable sworn statement containing the
following information:
(1) (i) that the person is the registered owner of the
vehicle from which the plates have been impounded under this
section;
(2) (ii) that the person is the current owner and possessor
of the vehicle used in the violation;
(3) (iii) the date on which the violator obtained the
vehicle from the registered owner;
(4) (iv) the residence addresses of the registered owner
and the violator on the date the violator obtained the vehicle
from the registered owner;
(5) (v) that the person was not a passenger in the vehicle
at the time of the violation; and
(6) (vi) that the person knows that the violator may not
drive, operate, or be in physical control of a vehicle without a
valid driver's license; or
(2) the violator did not have a valid driver's license on
the date of the violation and the person made a report to law
enforcement before the violation stating that the vehicle had
been taken from the person's possession or was being used
without permission.
(b) The commissioner may not rescind the impoundment order
nor reissue registration plates to a registered owner if the
owner knew or had reason to know that the violator did not have
a valid driver's license on the date the violator obtained the
vehicle from the owner. A person who has failed to make a report
as provided in paragraph (a), clause (2), may be issued special
registration plates under subdivision 12 for a period of one
year from the effective date of the impoundment order. At the
next registration renewal following this period, the person may
apply for regular registration plates.
(c) If the order is rescinded, the owner shall receive new
registration plates at no cost, if the plates were seized and
destroyed.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.042, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 13a. [ACQUIRING ANOTHER VEHICLE.] If during the
effective period of the plate impoundment the violator applies
to the commissioner for registration plates for any vehicle, the
commissioner shall not issue registration plates unless the
violator qualifies for special registration plates under
subdivision 12 and unless the plates issued are special plates
as described in subdivision 12.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.12,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [AMATEUR RADIO STATION LICENSEE; SPECIAL LICENSE
PLATES.] Any applicant who is an owner or joint owner of a
passenger automobile, van or pickup truck, or a self-propelled
recreational vehicle, and a resident of this state, and who
holds an official amateur radio station license, or a citizens
radio service class D license, in good standing, issued by the
Federal Communications Commission shall upon compliance with all
laws of this state relating to registration and the licensing of
motor vehicles and drivers, be furnished with license plates for
the motor vehicle, as prescribed by law, upon which, in lieu of
the numbers required for identification under subdivision 1,
shall be inscribed the official amateur call letters of the
applicant, as assigned by the Federal Communications
Commission., and the words "AMATEUR RADIO." The applicant shall
pay in addition to the registration tax required by law, the sum
of $10 for the special license plates, and at the time of
delivery of the special license plates the applicant shall
surrender to the registrar the current license plates issued for
the motor vehicle. This provision for the issue of special
license plates shall apply only if the applicant's vehicle is
already registered in Minnesota so that the applicant has valid
regular Minnesota plates issued for that vehicle under which to
operate it during the time that it will take to have the
necessary special license plates made. If owning or jointly
owning more than one motor vehicle of the type specified in this
subdivision, the applicant may apply for special plates for each
of not more than two vehicles, and, if each application complies
with this subdivision, the registrar shall furnish the applicant
with the special plates, inscribed with the official amateur
call letters and other distinguishing information as the
registrar considers necessary, for each of the two vehicles.
And the registrar may make reasonable rules governing the use of
the special license plates as will assure the full compliance by
the owner and holder of the special plates, with all existing
laws governing the registration of motor vehicles, the transfer
and the use thereof.
Despite any contrary provision of subdivision 1, the
special license plates issued under this subdivision may be
transferred to another motor vehicle upon the payment of a fee
of $5. The registrar must be notified of the transfer and may
prescribe a form for the notification.
Fees collected under this subdivision must be paid into the
state treasury and credited to the highway user tax distribution
fund.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.123,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS; FEES.] (a) On
payment of a fee of $10 for each set of two plates, or for a
single plate in the case of a motorcycle plate, payment of the
registration tax required by law, and compliance with other laws
relating to the registration and licensing of a passenger
automobile, pickup truck, van, self-propelled recreational
equipment, or motorcycle, as applicable, the registrar shall
issue:
(1) special license plates to an applicant who served in
the active military service in a branch of the armed forces of
the United States or of a nation or society allied with the
United States in conducting a foreign war, was discharged under
honorable conditions, and is an owner or joint owner of a motor
vehicle included within the definition of a passenger automobile
or which is, pickup truck, van, or self-propelled recreational
equipment, on payment of a fee of $10 for each set of two
plates, payment of the registration tax required by law, and
compliance with other laws relating to registration and
licensing of motor vehicles and drivers; or
(2) a special motorcycle license plate as described in
subdivision 2, paragraph (a), or another special license plate
designed by the commissioner of public safety to an applicant
who is a Vietnam veteran who served after July 1, 1961, and
before July 1, 1978, and who served in the active military
service in a branch of the armed forces of the United States in
conducting a foreign war, was discharged under honorable
conditions, and is an owner or joint owner of a motorcycle.
Plates issued under this clause must be the same size as
standard motorcycle license plates.
(b) The additional fee of $10 is payable for each set of
plates, is payable only when the plates are issued, and is not
payable in a year in which tabs or stickers are issued instead
of number plates. An applicant must not be issued more than two
sets of plates for vehicles listed in paragraph (a) and owned or
jointly owned by the applicant.
(c) The veteran shall have a certified copy of the
veteran's discharge papers, indicating character of discharge,
at the time of application. If an applicant served in the
active military service in a branch of the armed forces of a
nation or society allied with the United States in conducting a
foreign war and is unable to obtain a record of that service and
discharge status, the commissioner of veterans affairs may
certify the applicant as qualified for the veterans' license
plates provided under this section.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.123,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [PLATE TRANSFERS.] (a) On payment of a fee of $5,
plates issued under this section subdivision 1, paragraph (a),
clause (1), may be transferred to another motor
vehicle passenger automobile, pickup truck, van, or
self-propelled recreational equipment owned or jointly owned by
the person to whom the plates were issued.
(b) On payment of a fee of $5, a plate issued under
subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), may be transferred to
another motorcycle owned or jointly owned by the person to whom
the plate was issued.
Sec. 6. [168.1291] [SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES; DESIGN.]
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITION.] For purposes of this section
"special license plates" means license plates issued under
sections 168.12, subdivisions 2b to 2e; 168.123; 168.129;
168.1292; and 168.1296.
Subd. 2. [DESIGN OF SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.] The
commissioner shall design a single special license plate that
will contain a unique number and a space for a unique symbol.
The commissioner shall design a unique symbol related to the
purpose of each special license plate. Any provision of
sections 168.12, subdivisions 2b to 2e; 168.123; 168.129;
168.1292; and 168.1296 that requires the placement of a
specified letter or letters on a special license plate applies
to those license plates only to the extent that the commissioner
includes the letter or letters in the design. Where a law
authorizing a special license plate contains a specific
requirement for graphic design of that license plate, that
requirement applies to the appropriate unique symbol the
commissioner designs.
Subd. 3. [ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES WITH UNIQUE
SYMBOLS.] Notwithstanding section 168.12, subdivisions 2b to 2e;
168.123; 168.129; 168.1292; or 168.1296, beginning with special
license plates issued in calendar year 1996 the commissioner
shall issue each class of special license plates permanently
marked with specific designs under those laws only until the
commissioner's supply of those license plates is exhausted.
Thereafter the commissioner shall issue under those laws only
the license plate authorized under subdivision 2, with the
appropriate unique symbol attached.
Subd. 4. [FEES.] Notwithstanding section 168.12,
subdivisions 2b to 2e; 168.123; 168.129; 168.1292; or 168.1296,
the commissioner shall charge a fee of $10 for each set of
license plates issued under this section.
Subd. 5. [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a
special motorcycle license plate designed by the registrar under
section 168.123, subdivision 1, clause (2).
Sec. 7. [168.1292] [OLYMPIC LICENSE PLATES.]
Subdivision 1. [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.] The
registrar shall issue special Olympic license plates to an
applicant who:
(1) is an owner or joint owner of a passenger automobile,
pickup truck, or van;
(2) pays a fee of $10 to cover the costs of handling and
manufacturing the plates;
(3) pays the registration tax required under section
168.013;
(4) pays the fees required under this chapter;
(5) contributes $15 annually to the Minnesota amateur
sports commission; and
(6) complies with laws and rules governing registration and
licensing of vehicles and drivers.
Subd. 2. [DESIGN.] After consultation with the United
States Olympic Committee, the registrar shall design the special
Olympic plates.
In consultation with the registrar, the Minnesota amateur
sports commission annually shall indicate the number of plates
the commission anticipates will be needed.
Subd. 3. [PLATE TRANSFERS.] Notwithstanding section
168.12, subdivision 1, on payment of a transfer fee of $5,
plates issued under this section may be transferred to another
passenger vehicle, pickup truck, or van owned or jointly owned
by the person to whom the special plates were issued.
Subd. 4. [FEES CREDITED.] The fees collected under this
section must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to
the highway user tax distribution fund.
Subd. 5. [CONTRIBUTIONS.] The registrar shall issue a set
of Olympic license plates under this section only to a person
who presents at the time of applying for registration a receipt
from the Minnesota amateur sports commission that demonstrates
that the applicant has contributed at least $15 to the
commission within 90 days prior to the date of the application.
After the issuance of that set of Olympic license plates, the
collection of subsequent contributions during the life of that
set of license plates is the responsibility of the commission.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
168.1296, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.] The
registrar shall issue special critical habitat license plates to
an applicant who:
(1) is an owner or joint owner of a passenger automobile,
pickup truck, or van;
(2) pays a fee determined by the registrar of $10 to cover
the costs of handling and manufacturing the plates;
(3) pays the registration tax required under section
168.013;
(4) pays the fees required under this chapter;
(5) contributes at least $30 annually to the Minnesota
critical habitat private sector matching account established in
section 84.943; and
(6) complies with laws and rules governing registration and
licensing of vehicles and drivers.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.15, is
amended to read:
168.15 [RIGHTS AS TO REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES AND NUMBER
PLATES.]
Subdivision 1. [TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP.] Except as provided
in subdivision 3, upon the transfer of ownership, destruction,
theft, dismantling as such, or the permanent removal by the
owner thereof from this state of any motor vehicle registered in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the right of the
owner of such vehicle to use the registration certificate and
number plates assigned such vehicle shall expire, and such
certificate and any existing plates shall be, by such owner,
forthwith returned, with transportation prepaid, to the
registrar with a signed notice of the date and manner of
termination of ownership, giving the name and post office
address, with street and number, if in a city, of the person to
whom transferred. No fee may be charged for a return of plates
under this section. When the ownership of a motor vehicle shall
be transferred to another who shall forthwith register the same
in the other's name, the registrar may permit the manual
delivery of such plates to the new owner of such vehicle. When
seeking to become the owner by gift, trade, or purchase of any
vehicle for which a registration certificate has been
theretofore issued under the provisions of this chapter, a
person shall join with the registered owner in transmitting with
the application the registration certificate, with the
assignment and notice of sale duly executed upon the reverse
side thereof, or, in case of loss of such certificate, with such
proof of loss by sworn statement, in writing, as shall be
satisfactory to the registrar. Upon the transfer of any motor
vehicle by a manufacturer or dealer, for use within the state,
whether by sale, lease, or otherwise, such manufacturer or
dealer shall, within seven days after such transfer, file with
the registrar a notice or report containing the date of such
transfer, a description of such motor vehicles, and the name,
street and number of residence, if in a city, and the post
office address of the transferee, and shall transmit therewith
the transferee's application for registration thereof.
Subd. 2. [TRANSFER OF ENGINE.] Upon the transfer of any
automobile engine or motor, except a new engine or motor,
transferred with intent that the same be installed in a new
automobile, and whether such transfer be made by a manufacturer
or dealer, or otherwise, and whether by sale, lease or
otherwise, the transferor shall, within two days after such
transfer, file with the registrar a notice or report containing
the date of such transfer and a description, together with the
maker's number of the engine or motor, and the name and post
office address of the purchaser, lessee, or other transferee.
Subd. 3. [VEHICLES OF LESSORS; TRANSFERS.] Notwithstanding
subdivision 1, a motor vehicle lessor licensed under section
168.27, subdivision 2, 3, or 4, may transfer license plates
issued to one rental motor vehicle owned by the lessor to
another rental motor vehicle, owned by the lessor and not
previously registered in Minnesota or another jurisdiction, if
within ten days of the transfer the lessor registers the vehicle
to which the license plates were transferred. Upon
registration, the lessor must pay all taxes and fees due on the
registration of the vehicle to which the license plates were
transferred, plus a transfer fee of $15. The fee must be
deposited in the highway user tax distribution fund. For
purposes of this subdivision, "rental motor vehicle" means a
vehicle used for rentals or leases of 30 days or less.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
168.16, is amended to read:
168.16 [REFUNDS; APPROPRIATION.]
After the tax upon any motor vehicle shall have been paid
for any year, refund shall be made for errors made in computing
the tax or fees and for the error on the part of an owner who
may in error have registered a motor vehicle that was not
before, nor at the time of registration, nor at any time
thereafter during the current past year, subject to tax in this
state as provided by section 168.012. Unless otherwise provided
in this chapter, a claim for a refund of an overpayment of
registration tax must be filed within 3-1/2 years from the date
of payment. The refundment shall be made from any fund in
possession of the registrar and shall be deducted from the
registrar's monthly report to the commissioner of finance. A
detailed report of the refundment shall accompany the report.
The former owner of a transferred vehicle by an assignment in
writing endorsed upon the registration certificate and delivered
to the registrar within the time provided herein may sell and
assign to the new owner thereof the right to have the tax paid
by the former owner accredited to the owner who duly registers
the vehicle. Any owner at the time of such occurrence, whose
vehicle shall be is permanently destroyed, or sold to the
federal government, the state, or political subdivision thereof,
and any owner who sells a rental motor vehicle and transfers the
license plates issued to that motor vehicle under section
168.15, subdivision 3, shall upon filing a verified claim be
entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the tax paid upon
the vehicle, computed as follows:
(1) if the vehicle is registered under the calendar year
system of registration, the refund is computed pro rata by the
month, 1/12 of the annual tax paid for each month of the year
remaining after the month in which the plates and certificate
were returned to the registrar;
(2) in the case of a vehicle registered under the monthly
series system of registration, the amount of the refund is equal
to the sum of the amounts of the license fee attributable to
those months remaining in the licensing period after the month
in which the plates and certificate were returned to the
registrar.
There is hereby appropriated to the persons entitled to a
refund, from the fund or account in the state treasury to which
the money was credited, an amount sufficient to make the refund
and payment. Refunds under this section to licensed motor
vehicle lessors must be made annually in a manner the registrar
determines.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.33, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. [TEMPORARY DISABILITY PERMIT AND FEE.] The
registrar shall allow deputy registrars to implement and follow
procedures for processing applications and accepting and
remitting fee payments for 30-day temporary disability permits
issued under section 169.345, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), that
are identical or substantially similar to the procedures
required by rule for motor vehicle registration and titling
transactions.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.121,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [CRIMINAL PENALTIES.] (a) As used in this
subdivision:
(1) "prior impaired driving conviction" means a prior
conviction under this section; section 84.91, subdivision 1,
paragraph (a); 86B.331, subdivision 1, paragraph (a); 169.129;
360.0752; 609.21, subdivision 1, clauses (2) to (4); 609.21,
subdivision 2, clauses (2) to (4); 609.21, subdivision 2a,
clauses (2) to (4); 609.21, subdivision 3, clauses (2) to (4);
609.21, subdivision 4, clauses (2) to (4); or an ordinance from
this state, or a statute or ordinance from another state in
conformity with any of them. A prior impaired driving
conviction also includes a prior juvenile adjudication that
would have been a prior impaired driving conviction if committed
by an adult; and
(2) "prior license revocation" means a driver's license
suspension, revocation, or cancellation under this section;
section 169.123; 171.04; 171.14; 171.16; 171.17; or 171.18
because of an alcohol-related incident; 609.21, subdivision 1,
clauses (2) to (4); 609.21, subdivision 2, clauses (2) to (4);
609.21, subdivision 2a, clauses (2) to (4); 609.21, subdivision
3, clauses (2) to (4); or 609.21, subdivision 4, clauses (2) to
(4); or an ordinance from this state, or a statute or ordinance
from another state in conformity with any of them.
(b) A person who violates subdivision 1 or 1a, or an
ordinance in conformity with either of them, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(c) A person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor under any of
the following circumstances:
(1) the person violates subdivision 1 within five years of
a prior impaired driving conviction, or within ten years of the
first of two or more prior impaired driving convictions;
(2) the person violates subdivision 1a within five years of
a prior license revocation, or within ten years of the first of
two or more prior license revocations;
(3) the person violates section 169.26 while in violation
of subdivision 1; or
(4) the person violates subdivision 1 or 1a while a child
under the age of 16 is in the vehicle, if the child is more than
36 months younger than the violator.
(d) The attorney in the jurisdiction in which the violation
occurred who is responsible for prosecution of misdemeanor
violations of this section shall also be responsible for
prosecution of gross misdemeanor violations of this section.
(e) The court must impose consecutive sentences when it
sentences a person for a violation of this section or section
169.29 arising out of separate behavioral incidents. The court
also must impose a consecutive sentence when it sentences a
person for a violation of this section or section 169.129 and
the person, at the time of sentencing, is on probation for, or
serving, an executed sentence for a violation of this section or
section 169.29 and the prior sentence involved a separate
behavioral incident. The court also may order that the sentence
imposed for a violation of this section or section 169.29 shall
run consecutively to a previously imposed misdemeanor, gross
misdemeanor or felony sentence for a violation other than this
section or section 169.129.
(f) When an attorney responsible for prosecuting gross
misdemeanors under this section requests criminal history
information relating to prior impaired driving convictions from
a court, the court must furnish the information without charge.
(g) A violation of subdivision 1a may be prosecuted either
in the jurisdiction where the arresting officer observed the
defendant driving, operating, or in control of the motor vehicle
or in the jurisdiction where the refusal occurred.
Sec. 13. [APPROPRIATION TO PAY INITIAL COSTS OF OLYMPIC
PLATES.]
(a) The Minnesota amateur sports commission shall pay the
commissioner an amount determined by the commissioner to equal
the administrative, handling, and manufacturing costs of the
first production of Olympic license plates. Production of
license plates must begin after the commissioner receives
payment.
(b) The amount determined by the commissioner under
paragraph (a) is appropriated to the commissioner of public
safety to pay the costs of the first production of Olympic
license plates. The sum is available until spent.
(c) The amount paid by the Minnesota amateur sports
commission to the commissioner under paragraph (a) is
appropriated to the Minnesota amateur sports commission from the
highway user tax distribution fund. This appropriation is
available to the extent that Olympic license plates are sold and
receipts are credited to the highway user tax distribution fund.
Sec. 14. [REPORT.]
The commissioner of public safety shall report to the
legislature by January 15, 1999, on the fiscal impact of
sections 9 and 10. The report must include the total amount
paid in refunds and collected in fees under those sections.
Sec. 15. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Section 8 is effective the day following final enactment.
Sections 9 and 10 are effective January 1, 1997, and are
repealed June 30, 1999.
ARTICLE 5
REPLACEMENT TRANSIT SERVICE
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
275.065, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES.] (a) The
county auditor shall prepare and the county treasurer shall
deliver after November 10 and on or before November 24 each
year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at the address listed
on the county's current year's assessment roll, a notice of
proposed property taxes and, in the case of a town, final
property taxes.
(b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of
the notice.
(c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the
amount of property taxes each taxing authority other than a town
proposes to collect for taxes payable the following year and,
for a town, the amount of its final levy. It must clearly state
that each taxing authority, including regional library districts
established under section 134.201, and including the
metropolitan taxing districts as defined in paragraph (i), but
excluding all other special taxing districts and towns, will
hold a public meeting to receive public testimony on the
proposed budget and proposed or final property tax levy, or, in
case of a school district, on the current budget and proposed
property tax levy. It must clearly state the time and place of
each taxing authority's meeting and an address where comments
will be received by mail.
(d) The notice must state for each parcel:
(1) the market value of the property as determined under
section 273.11, and used for computing property taxes payable in
the following year and for taxes payable in the current year;
and, in the case of residential property, whether the property
is classified as homestead or nonhomestead. The notice must
clearly inform taxpayers of the years to which the market values
apply and that the values are final values;
(2) by county, city or town, school district excess
referenda levy, remaining school district levy, regional library
district, if in existence, the total of the metropolitan special
taxing districts as defined in paragraph (i) and the sum of the
remaining special taxing districts, and as a total of the taxing
authorities, including all special taxing districts, the
proposed or, for a town, final net tax on the property for taxes
payable the following year and the actual tax for taxes payable
the current year. For the purposes of this subdivision, "school
district excess referenda levy" means school district taxes for
operating purposes approved at referendums, including those
taxes based on net tax capacity as well as those based on market
value. "School district excess referenda levy" does not include
school district taxes for capital expenditures approved at
referendums or school district taxes to pay for the debt service
on bonds approved at referenda. In the case of the city of
Minneapolis, the levy for the Minneapolis library board and the
levy for Minneapolis park and recreation shall be listed
separately from the remaining amount of the city's levy. In the
case of a parcel where tax increment or the fiscal disparities
areawide tax applies, the proposed tax levy on the captured
value or the proposed tax levy on the tax capacity subject to
the areawide tax must each be stated separately and not included
in the sum of the special taxing districts; and
(3) the increase or decrease in the amounts in clause (2)
from taxes payable in the current year to proposed or, for a
town, final taxes payable the following year, expressed as a
dollar amount and as a percentage.
(e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or
final taxes do not include the following:
(1) special assessments;
(2) levies approved by the voters after the date the
proposed taxes are certified, including bond referenda, school
district levy referenda, and levy limit increase referenda;
(3) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to
a natural disaster occurring after the date the proposed taxes
are certified;
(4) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the
taxing authority that become final after the date the proposed
taxes are certified; and
(5) the contamination tax imposed on properties which
received market value reductions for contamination.
(f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the
county auditor to prepare or the county treasurer to deliver the
notice as required in this section does not invalidate the
proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the
tax levy.
(g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section
lists the property as nonhomestead and the homeowner provides
satisfactory documentation to the county assessor that the
property is owned and has been used as the owner's homestead
prior to June 1 of that year, the assessor shall reclassify the
property to homestead for taxes payable in the following year.
(h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a
residence for lease or rental periods of 30 days or more, the
taxpayer must either:
(1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed
property taxes to each tenant, renter, or lessee; or
(2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the
premises of the property.
The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by
November 27 or within three days of receipt of the notice,
whichever is later. A taxpayer may notify the county treasurer
of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of
the premises to which the notice must be mailed in order to
fulfill the requirements of this paragraph.
(i) For purposes of this subdivision, subdivisions 5a and
6, "metropolitan special taxing districts" means the following
taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area that levy
a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below:
(1) metropolitan council under section 473.132, 473.167,
473.249, 473.325, 473.446, 473.521, 473.547, or 473.834;
(2) metropolitan airports commission under section 473.667,
473.671, or 473.672; and
(3) metropolitan mosquito control commission under section
473.711.
(j) For taxes levied in 1996, payable in 1997 only, in the
case of a statutory or home rule charter city or town that
exercises the local levy option provided in section 473.388,
subdivision 7, the notice of its proposed taxes may include a
statement of the amount by which its proposed tax increase for
taxes payable in 1997 is attributable to its exercise of that
option, together with a statement that the levy of the
metropolitan council was decreased by a similar amount because
of the exercise of that option.
For purposes of this section, any levies made by the
regional rail authorities in the county of Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter
398A shall be included with the appropriate county's levy and
shall be discussed at that county's public hearing.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
275.065, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [PUBLIC HEARING; ADOPTION OF BUDGET AND LEVY.]
Between November 29 and December 20, the governing bodies of the
city, county, metropolitan special taxing districts as defined
in subdivision 3, paragraph (i), and regional library districts
shall each hold a public hearing to discuss and seek public
comment on its final budget and property tax levy for taxes
payable in the following year, and the governing body of the
school district shall hold a public hearing to review its
current budget and proposed property tax levy for taxes payable
in the following year. The metropolitan special taxing
districts shall be required to hold only a single joint public
hearing, the location of which will be determined by the
affected metropolitan agencies.
At a subsequent hearing, each county, school district,
city, and metropolitan special taxing district may amend its
proposed property tax levy and must adopt a final property tax
levy. Each county, city, and metropolitan special taxing
district may also amend its proposed budget and must adopt a
final budget at the subsequent hearing. A school district is
not required to adopt its final budget at the subsequent
hearing. The subsequent hearing of a taxing authority must be
held on a date subsequent to the date of the taxing authority's
initial public hearing, or subsequent to the date of its
continuation hearing if a continuation hearing is held. The
subsequent hearing may be held at a regularly scheduled board or
council meeting or at a special meeting scheduled for the
purposes of the subsequent hearing. The subsequent hearing of a
taxing authority does not have to be coordinated by the county
auditor to prevent a conflict with an initial hearing, a
continuation hearing, or a subsequent hearing of any other
taxing authority. All subsequent hearings must be held prior to
five working days after December 20 of the levy year.
The time and place of the subsequent hearing must be
announced at the initial public hearing or at the continuation
hearing.
The property tax levy certified under section 275.07 by a
city, county, metropolitan special taxing district, regional
library district, or school district must not exceed the
proposed levy determined under subdivision 1, except by an
amount up to the sum of the following amounts:
(1) the amount of a school district levy whose voters
approved a referendum to increase taxes under section 124.82,
subdivision 3, 124A.03, subdivision 2, 124B.03, subdivision 2,
or 136C.411, after the proposed levy was certified;
(2) the amount of a city or county levy approved by the
voters after the proposed levy was certified;
(3) the amount of a levy to pay principal and interest on
bonds issued or approved by the voters under section 475.58
after the proposed levy was certified;
(4) the amount of a levy to pay costs due to a natural
disaster occurring after the proposed levy was certified, if
that amount is approved by the commissioner of revenue under
subdivision 6a;
(5) the amount of a levy to pay tort judgments against a
taxing authority that become final after the proposed levy was
certified, if the amount is approved by the commissioner of
revenue under subdivision 6a;
(6) the amount of an increase in levy limits certified to
the taxing authority by the commissioner of children, families,
and learning or the commissioner of revenue after the proposed
levy was certified; and
(7) the amount required under section 124.755.
At the hearing under this subdivision, the percentage
increase in property taxes proposed by the taxing authority, if
any, and the specific purposes for which property tax revenues
are being increased must be discussed.
During the discussion, the governing body shall hear
comments regarding a proposed increase and explain the reasons
for the proposed increase. The public shall be allowed to speak
and to ask questions. At the subsequent hearing held as
provided in this subdivision, the governing body, other than the
governing body of a school district, shall adopt its final
property tax levy prior to adopting its final budget.
If the hearing is not completed on its scheduled date, the
taxing authority must announce, prior to adjournment of the
hearing, the date, time, and place for the continuation of the
hearing. The continued hearing must be held at least five
business days but no more than 14 business days after the
original hearing.
The hearing must be held after 5:00 p.m. if scheduled on a
day other than Saturday. No hearing may be held on a Sunday.
The governing body of a county shall hold a hearing on the
second Tuesday in December each year, and may hold additional
hearings on other dates before December 20 if necessary for the
convenience of county residents. If the county needs a
continuation of its hearing, the continued hearing shall be held
on the third Tuesday in December. If the third Tuesday in
December falls on December 21, the county's continuation hearing
shall be held on Monday, December 20. The county auditor shall
provide for the coordination of hearing dates for all cities and
school districts within the county.
The metropolitan special taxing districts shall hold a
joint public hearing on the first Monday of December. A
continuation hearing, if necessary, shall be held on the second
Monday of December.
By August 10, each school board and the board of the
regional library district shall certify to the county auditors
of the counties in which the school district or regional library
district is located the dates on which it elects to hold its
hearings and any continuations. If a school board or regional
library district does not certify the dates by August 10, the
auditor will assign the hearing date. The dates elected or
assigned must not conflict with the hearing dates of the county
or the metropolitan special taxing districts. By August 20, the
county auditor shall notify the clerks of the cities within the
county of the dates on which school districts and regional
library districts have elected to hold their hearings. At the
time a city certifies its proposed levy under subdivision 1 it
shall certify the dates on which it elects to hold its hearings
and any continuations. The city must not select dates that
conflict with the county hearing dates, metropolitan special
taxing district dates, or with those elected by or assigned to
the school districts or regional library district in which the
city is located.
The county hearing dates and the city, metropolitan special
taxing district, regional library district, and school district
hearing dates must be designated on the notices required under
subdivision 3. The continuation dates need not be stated on the
notices.
This subdivision does not apply to towns and special taxing
districts other than regional library districts and metropolitan
special taxing districts.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the
employer is required to meet and negotiate over employee
compensation as provided for in chapter 179A.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.388,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [OTHER ASSISTANCE.] A city or town receiving
assistance or levying a transit tax under this section may also
receive assistance from the council under section 473.384. In
applying for assistance under that section an applicant must
describe the portion of the its available local transit funds or
local transit taxes which are not obligated to subsidize its
replacement transit service and which the applicant proposes to
use to subsidize additional service. An applicant which has
exhausted its available local transit funds or local transit
taxes may use any other local subsidy funds to complete the
required local share.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.388, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7. [LOCAL LEVY OPTION.] (a) A statutory or home rule
charter city or town that is eligible for assistance under this
section, in lieu of receiving the assistance, may levy a tax for
payment of the operating and capital expenditures for transit
and other related activities and to provide for payment of
obligations issued by the municipality for such purposes,
provided that the tax must be sufficient to maintain the level
of transit service provided in the municipality in the previous
year.
(b) The transit tax revenues derived by the municipality
may not exceed:
(1) for the first transit levy year and any subsequent
transit levy year immediately following a year in which the
municipality declines to make the levy, the maximum available
local transit funds for the municipality for taxes payable in
the current year under section 473.446, calculated as if the
percentage of transit tax revenues for the municipality were 88
percent instead of 90 percent, and multiplied by the
municipality's market value adjustment ratio; and
(2) for taxes levied in any year that immediately follows a
year in which the municipality elects to levy under this
subdivision, the maximum transit tax that the municipality may
have levied in the previous year under this subdivision,
multiplied by the municipality's market value adjustment ratio.
The commissioner of revenue shall certify the
municipality's levy limitation under this subdivision to the
municipality by June 1 of the levy year. The tax must be
accumulated and kept in a separate fund to be known as the
"replacement transit fund."
(c) To enable the municipality to receive revenues
described in clauses (2) and (3) of the definition of "tax
revenues" in subdivision 4, that would otherwise be lost if the
municipality's transit tax levy was not treated as a successor
levy to that made by the council under section 473.446:
(1) in the first transit levy year and any subsequent
transit levy year immediately following a year in which the
municipality declined to make the levy, 88 percent of the
council's nondebt spread levy for the current taxes payable year
shall be treated as levied by the municipality, and not the
council, for purposes of section 473F.08, subdivision 3, for the
purpose of determining its local tax rate for the preceding
year; and
(2) 88 percent of the revenues described in clause (3) of
the definition of "tax revenues" in subdivision 4, payable in
the first transit levy year, or payable in any subsequent
transit levy year following a year in which a municipality
declined to make the levy, shall be permanently transferred from
the council to the municipality. If a municipality levies a tax
under this subdivision in one year, but declines to levy in a
subsequent year, the aid transferred under this clause shall be
transferred back to the council.
(d) Any transit taxes levied under this subdivision are not
subject to, or counted towards, any limit hereafter imposed by
law on the levy of taxes upon taxable property within any
municipality unless the law specifically includes the transit
tax.
(e) This subdivision is consistent with the transit
redesign plan. Eligible municipalities opting to levy the
transit tax under this subdivision shall continue to meet the
regional performance standards established by the council.
(f) Within the designated Americans with Disabilities Act
area, metro mobility remains the obligation of the state.
(g) For purposes of this subdivision, "transit levy year"
is any year in which the municipality elects to levy under this
subdivision.
(h) A municipality may not levy taxes under this
subdivision in any year unless it notifies the council and the
commissioner of revenue of its intent to levy before July 1 of
the levy year. The notification must include the amount of the
municipality's proposed transit tax for the current levy year.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
473.446, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [TAXATION WITHIN TRANSIT TAXING DISTRICT.]
For the purposes of sections 473.405 to 473.449 and the
metropolitan transit system, except as otherwise provided in
this subdivision and subdivision 1b, the council shall levy each
year upon all taxable property within the metropolitan transit
taxing district, defined in subdivision 2, a transit tax
consisting of:
(a) an amount which shall be used for payment of the
expenses of operating transit and paratransit service and to
provide for payment of obligations issued by the council under
section 473.436, subdivision 6;
(b) an additional amount, if any, the council determines to
be necessary to provide for the full and timely payment of its
certificates of indebtedness and other obligations outstanding
on July 1, 1985, to which property taxes under this section have
been pledged; and
(c) an additional amount necessary to provide full and
timely payment of certificates of indebtedness, bonds, including
refunding bonds or other obligations issued or to be issued
under section 473.39 by the council for purposes of acquisition
and betterment of property and other improvements of a capital
nature and to which the council has specifically pledged tax
levies under this clause.
The property tax levied by the council for general purposes
under clause paragraph (a) must not exceed the following amount
for the years specified:
(1) for taxes payable in 1995, the council's property tax
levy limitation for general transit purposes is equal to the
former regional transit board's property tax levy limitation for
general transit purposes under this subdivision, for taxes
payable in 1994, multiplied by an index for market valuation
changes equal to the total market valuation of all taxable
property located within the metropolitan transit taxing district
for the current taxes payable year divided by the total market
valuation of all taxable property located within the
metropolitan transit taxing district for the previous taxes
payable year; and
(2) for taxes payable in 1996 and subsequent years, the
product of (i) the council's property tax levy limitation for
general transit purposes for the previous year determined under
this subdivision before reduction by the amount levied by any
municipality in the previous year under section 473.388,
subdivision 7, multiplied by (ii) an index for market valuation
changes equal to the total market valuation of all taxable
property located within the metropolitan transit taxing district
for the current taxes payable year divided by the total market
valuation of all taxable property located within the
metropolitan transit taxing district for the previous taxes
payable year, minus the amount levied by any municipality in the
current levy year under section 473.388, subdivision 7.
The portion of the property tax levy for transit district
operating purposes attributable to a municipality that has
exercised a local levy option under section 473.388, subdivision
7, is the amount as determined under subdivision 1b. The
portion of the property tax levy for transit district operating
purposes attributable to the remaining municipalities within the
transit district is found by subtracting the portions
attributable to the municipalities that have exercised a local
levy option under section 473.388, subdivision 7.
For the taxes payable year 1995, the index for market
valuation changes shall be multiplied by an amount equal to the
sum of the regional transit board's property tax levy limitation
for the taxes payable year 1994 and $160,665. The $160,665
increase shall be a permanent adjustment to the levy limit base
used in determining the regional transit board's property tax
levy limitation for general purposes for subsequent taxes
payable years.
For the purpose of determining the council's property tax
levy limitation for general transit purposes under this
subdivision, "total market valuation" means the total market
valuation of all taxable property within the metropolitan
transit taxing district without valuation adjustments for fiscal
disparities (chapter 473F), tax increment financing (sections
469.174 to 469.179), and high voltage transmission lines
(section 273.425).
The county auditor shall reduce the tax levied pursuant to
this subdivision section and section 473.388 on all property
within statutory and home rule charter cities and towns that
receive full-peak service and limited off-peak service by an
amount equal to the tax levy that would be produced by applying
a rate of 0.510 percent of net tax capacity on the property.
The county auditor shall reduce the tax levied pursuant to
this subdivision section and section 473.388 on all property
within statutory and home rule charter cities and towns that
receive limited peak service by an amount equal to the tax levy
that would be produced by applying a rate of 0.765 percent of
net tax capacity on the property. The amounts so computed by
the county auditor shall be submitted to the commissioner of
revenue as part of the abstracts of tax lists required to be
filed with the commissioner under section 275.29. Any prior
year adjustments shall also be certified in the abstracts of tax
lists. The commissioner shall review the certifications to
determine their accuracy and may make changes in the
certification as necessary or return a certification to the
county auditor for corrections. The commissioner shall pay to
the council and to the municipalities levying under section
473.388, subdivision 7, the amounts certified by the county
auditors on the dates provided in section 273.1398, apportioned
between the council and the municipality in the same proportion
as the total transit levy is apportioned within the
municipality. There is annually appropriated from the general
fund in the state treasury to the department of revenue the
amounts necessary to make these payments.
For the purposes of this subdivision, "full-peak and
limited off-peak service" means peak period regular route
service, plus weekday midday regular route service at intervals
longer than 60 minutes on the route with the greatest frequency;
and "limited peak period service" means peak period regular
route service only.
For the purposes of property taxes payable in the following
year, the council shall annually determine which cities and
towns qualify for the 0.510 percent or 0.765 percent tax
capacity rate reduction and shall certify this list to the
county auditor of the county wherein such cities and towns are
located on or before September 15. No changes may be made to
the annual list after September 15.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 473.446, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1b. [DEDUCTION OF LOCAL TRANSIT LEVY FOR ELIGIBLE
MUNICIPALITIES.] (a) The maximum the council may levy for
general purposes under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), upon
taxable property within a municipality levying taxes under
section 473.388, subdivision 7, is the combined transit tax
levied within the municipality in the previous year under
subdivision 1 and section 473.388, subdivision 7, multiplied by
the municipality's market value adjustment ratio, minus the
amount to be levied by the municipality under section 473.388,
subdivision 7, for the current levy year.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision:
(1) "municipality" means a municipality levying taxes under
section 473.388, subdivision 7, for replacement transit service;
(2) "market value adjustment ratio" means the index for
market valuation changes described in this section, as applied
to individual municipalities; and
(3) "tax revenues" has the meaning given the term in
section 473.388, subdivision 4.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
473.446, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [STATE REVIEW.] The commissioner of revenue shall
certify the council's levy limitation under this section to the
council by August 1 of the levy year. The council must certify
its proposed property tax levy under this section to the
commissioner of revenue by September 1 of the levy year. The
commissioner of revenue shall annually determine whether the
property tax for transit purposes certified by the council for
levy following the adoption of its proposed budget is within the
levy limitation imposed by subdivision subdivisions 1 and 1b.
The commissioner shall also annually determine whether the
transit tax imposed on all taxable property within the
metropolitan transit area but outside of the metropolitan
transit taxing district is within the levy limitation imposed by
subdivision 1a. The determination must be completed prior to
September 10 of each year. If current information regarding
market valuation in any county is not transmitted to the
commissioner in a timely manner, the commissioner may estimate
the current market valuation within that county for purposes of
making the calculations.
Sec. 8. [APPLICATION.]
This article applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Sec. 9. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 7 are effective for taxes levied in 1996,
payable in 1997 and subsequent years.
ARTICLE 6
DESIGNATED PARENTS
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
13.69, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [CLASSIFICATIONS.] (a) The following
government data of the department of public safety are private
data:
(1) medical data on driving instructors, licensed drivers,
and applicants for parking certificates and special license
plates issued to physically handicapped persons;
(2) other data on holders of a disability certificate under
section 169.345, except that data that are not medical data may
be released to law enforcement agencies; and
(3) social security numbers in driver's license and motor
vehicle registration records, except that social security
numbers must be provided to the department of revenue for
purposes of tax administration and the department of labor and
industry for purposes of workers' compensation administration
and enforcement.; and
(4) data on persons listed as designated parents under
section 171.07, subdivision 11, except that the data must be
released to:
(i) law enforcement agencies for the purpose of verifying
that an individual is a designated parent; or
(ii) law enforcement agencies who state that the license
holder is unable to communicate at that time and that the
information is necessary for notifying the designated parent of
the need to care for a child of the license holder.
(b) The following government data of the department of
public safety are confidential data: data concerning an
individual's driving ability when that data is received from a
member of the individual's family.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.07, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 11. [DESIGNATED PARENT.] (a) Upon the written
request of the applicant on a form developed by the department,
which contains the information specified in paragraph (b), and
upon payment of an additional fee of $3.50, the department shall
issue a driver's license or Minnesota identification card
bearing a symbol or other appropriate identifier indicating that
the license holder has appointed an individual to serve as a
designated parent under chapter 257A.
(b) The form shall provide as follows:
"...(Name of parent(s))... appoints ...(name of designated
parent)... to provide care for ...(name of child or children)...
when requested by the parent(s) or when the parent(s) is unable
to care for the child (children) and unable to request the
designated parent's assistance.
The designated parent will care for the child (children)
named in this form for (choose one of the following):
(indicate a specified period of time that is less than one
year); or
(indicate that care is to be provided for one year).
The designated parent has the powers and duties to make
decisions and meet the child's (children's) needs in the areas
checked or specified below:
education .....
health care .....
religion .....
day care .....
recreation .....
other .....
...........................................................
...........................................................
...........................................................
The designated parent (choose one of the following):
is ...
is not ...
authorized to make decisions about financial issues and
control financial resources provided for the child (children) by
the parent.
This designated parent agreement is effective for four
years following the date it is signed by the parent(s),
designated parent, any child age 14 or older, and any alternate
designated parent. However, the agreement may be canceled by a
parent, a designated parent, or an alternate designated parent
at any time before that date, upon notice to the other parties
to the agreement.
(Parent(s) signature(s) and Minnesota driver's license(s)
or Minnesota identification card number(s))
(Designated parent signature, Minnesota driver's license or
Minnesota identification card number, address, and telephone
number)
(Alternate designated parent signature, Minnesota driver's
license or Minnesota identification card number, address, and
telephone number)
(Child age 14 or older signature .....)
(Date .....)
(Notarization .....)"
(c) The department shall maintain a computerized records
system of all persons listed as designated parents by driver's
license and identification card applicants. This data shall be
released to appropriate law enforcement agencies under section
13.69. Upon a parent's request and payment of a fee of $3.50,
the department shall revise its list of designated parents and
alternates to reflect a change in the appointment of a
designated parent.
(d) At the request of the license or card holder, the
department shall cancel the designated parent indication without
additional charge. However, this paragraph does not prohibit a
fee that may be applicable for a duplicate or replacement
license or card, renewal of a license, or other service
applicable to a driver's license or identification card.
(e) Notwithstanding sections 13.08, subdivision 1, and
13.69, the department and department employees are conclusively
presumed to be acting in good faith when employees rely on
statements made, in person or by telephone, by persons
purporting to be law enforcement and subsequently release
information described in paragraph (b). When acting in good
faith, the department and department personnel are immune from
civil liability and not subject to suit for damages resulting
from the release of this information.
(f) The department and its employees:
(1) have no duty to inquire or otherwise determine whether
a form submitted under this subdivision contains the signatures
of all parents who have legal custody of a child; and
(2) are immune from all civil liability and not subject to
suit for damages resulting from a claim that any parent with
legal custody of a child has not signed the form.
(g) Of the fees received by the department under this
subdivision:
(1) Up to $111,000 received in fiscal year 1997 and up to
$61,000 received in subsequent fiscal years must be deposited in
the general fund.
(2) All other fees must be deposited in the trunk highway
fund.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 171.26, is
amended to read:
171.26 [MONEY CREDITED TO FUNDS.]
All money received under this chapter must be paid into the
state treasury and credited to the trunk highway fund, except as
provided in sections 171.06, subdivision 2a; 171.07, subdivision
11, paragraph (g); 171.12, subdivision 8; and 171.29,
subdivision 2, paragraph (b).
Sec. 4. [257A.01] [DESIGNATED PARENT AGREEMENT.]
Subdivision 1. [DESIGNATION IN AGREEMENT.] A parent who
has legal custody of a child may execute a designated parent
agreement that names an adult to serve as a designated parent to
care for the parent's minor child for a period of time specified
in the designated parent agreement, but not to exceed one year.
Subd. 2. [CONSENTS AND NOTICE REQUIRED.] The agreement
must be executed by all parents with physical custody of the
child. The agreement becomes operative when none of the parents
with physical custody is able to care for the child. As soon as
practicable after executing an agreement, a copy of the
agreement must be given to any noncustodial parent of the child
and to every child age 14 or older to whom the agreement applies.
Sec. 5. [257A.02] [DESIGNATED PARENT; ALTERNATE.]
An individual acting as a designated parent is exempt in
that role from any statute or administrative rule requiring a
foster care license, unless the child was placed in the home of
the designated parent by a child-placing agency pursuant to a
voluntary placement agreement or court order, but must provide
the notice required by section 257A.09 if applicable. A parent
who has named a guardian by will for the parent's children may
name that guardian or another individual as a designated parent
for the child. A parent who has legal custody of more than one
child may appoint the same or a different designated parent for
each child.
A parent may appoint an alternate designated parent who
would serve if the designated parent is unwilling or unable to
serve. All the provisions of this chapter dealing with a
designated parent apply to an alternate designated parent.
Sec. 6. [257A.03] [POWERS AND DUTIES OF DESIGNATED
PARENT.]
Subdivision 1. [GENERAL.] A designated parent has all the
powers regarding the care, custody, and financial interests of a
minor child specified in the designated parent agreement, except
as otherwise provided in this section. A designated parent does
not have the power to consent to marriage or adoption of the
child.
Subd. 2. [NOTICE TO NONCUSTODIAL PARENT; VISITATION.] As
soon as practicable after assuming care of a child, the
designated parent shall notify any noncustodial parent that the
designated parent has assumed care of the child. Court-ordered
visitation rights of a noncustodial parent continue while the
child is in the care of the designated parent, unless otherwise
modified by the court. A designated parent agreement does not
affect the right of a parent without physical custody to bring a
custody motion under chapter 518.
Subd. 3. [CHILD SUPPORT.] A preexisting child support
order is not suspended or terminated during the time a child is
cared for by a designated parent, unless otherwise provided by
court order. A designated parent has a cause of action for
child support against an absent parent under section 256.87,
subdivision 5.
Sec. 7. [257A.04] [DURATION.]
Subdivision 1. [IN GENERAL.] Unless canceled earlier under
section 257A.07 by a parent or the designated parent, a
designated parent agreement is effective for four years, after
which date a new agreement may be entered. The new agreement
may name the same or a different designated parent. A
designated parent agreement automatically terminates as to any
child when that child reaches age 18 or is lawfully married.
Subd. 2. [DEATH OF A PARENT.] If a parent dies while a
designated parent agreement is in effect, and there is no living
parent able to care for the child, the designated parent shall
care for the child until a guardian appointed by will is able to
take custody of the child or until a court order otherwise
provides for the care of the child. However, the designated
parent may cancel the agreement at any time under section
257A.07.
Sec. 8. [257A.05] [FORM.]
Subdivision 1. [WRITING.] A designated parent agreement
must be made in writing and all signatures must be notarized.
Subd. 2. [DESIGNATED PARENT INDICATION ON DRIVER'S
LICENSE.] A parent who wishes to have a designated parent
indication placed on the parent's driver's license or
identification card under section 171.07, subdivision 11, must
submit a copy of the notarized designated parent agreement to
the department of public safety and pay any required fee.
Sec. 9. [257A.06] [MULTIPLE AGREEMENTS.]
If more than one otherwise valid designated parent
agreement exists regarding the same child, the priority among
agreements is determined as follows:
(1) an agreement that has been submitted to the department
of public safety has priority over any other agreement;
(2) if one or more agreements have been submitted to the
department of public safety under section 171.07, subdivision
11, the agreement with the most recent date that has been
submitted to the department controls; and
(3) if multiple agreements exist, none of which has been
submitted to the department of public safety, the agreement with
the most recent date controls.
Sec. 10. [257A.07] [CANCELLATION.]
Subdivision 1. [HOW AND BY WHOM.] A parent may cancel a
designated parent agreement at any time. The parent shall
notify the designated parent of the cancellation. If the
designated parent is caring for the child at the time of
cancellation, the child must be returned to the parent
immediately upon the parent's request.
A designated parent may decline to serve at any time, and
the parent must cancel the agreement immediately upon request by
the designated parent. If a designated parent is caring for a
child when the designated parent cancels the agreement, the
parent must take physical custody of the child immediately. If
the parent is unable to resume physical custody at that time:
(1) the parent may name a new designated parent to care for
the child who shall immediately take custody of the child; or
(2) if that is not possible, the designated parent shall
contact the local social service agency, which shall assess the
needs and circumstances of the child, including the likelihood
of the noncustodial parent taking custody, and the need for
placement and court action on behalf of the child, if necessary.
Subd. 2. [NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.] A parent
who has had a designated parent indication placed on the
parent's driver's license or identification card under section
171.07, subdivision 11, has the responsibility to notify the
department of public safety in writing whenever a designated
parent agreement is canceled or a new designated parent or
alternate is chosen.
Sec. 11. [257A.08] [EXTENDING PERIOD OF CARE.]
If a parent is unable to resume caring for a child upon
expiration of the period of care indicated in the designated
parent agreement, the period of care may be extended for a
length of time agreed by the parent and designated parent, but
not to exceed one year. If a parent cannot be contacted or is
unable to communicate a decision about the child's care when the
agreed period of care expires, the designated parent may:
(1) petition the juvenile court to authorize continued care
by the designated parent until the parent is able to resume the
child's care, or for one year, whichever is sooner; or
(2) contact the local social service agency, which shall
assess the needs and circumstances of the child, including the
likelihood of the noncustodial parent taking custody of the
child, and the need for placement and court action on behalf of
the child, if necessary.
Sec. 12. [257A.09] [NOTICE TO LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY;
INVESTIGATION.]
If a child has been in the home of a designated parent for
30 days, the designated parent shall promptly notify the local
social service agency, any adult siblings of the child, and any
living paternal or maternal grandparents, of the following:
(1) the child's name, home address, and the name and home
address of the child's parents;
(2) that the child is in the home under a designated parent
agreement; and
(3) the length of time the child is expected to remain in
the designated parent's home.
The local social service agency may visit the child and the
home and may continue to visit and supervise the home and the
child or take other appropriate action to assure that the
welfare of the child is fully protected.
Sec. 13. [257A.10] [LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCY
EVALUATION.]
When a local social service agency assumes responsibility
for a child pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or by
order of the court, and the parent requests that placement be
with a designated parent, the local social service agency must
evaluate the appropriateness of the child's placement with the
designated parent. If placement with the designated parent is
deemed to be in the child's best interest, the designated parent
must comply with licensure requirements under Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 245A, in order to provide foster care for the
child.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 260.173,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 1,
if the child had been taken into custody pursuant to section
260.165, subdivision 1, clause (a) or clause (c)(2), and is not
alleged to be delinquent, the child shall be detained in the
least restrictive setting consistent with the child's health and
welfare and in closest proximity to the child's family as
possible. Placement may be with a child's relative, a
designated parent under chapter 257A, or in a shelter care
facility.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 524.5-505, is
amended to read:
524.5-505 [DELEGATION OF POWERS BY PARENT OR GUARDIAN.]
A parent or a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person,
by a properly executed power of attorney, may delegate to
another person, for a period not exceeding six months, any
powers regarding care, custody, or property of the minor or
ward, except the power to consent to marriage or adoption of a
minor ward. A parent of a minor child may delegate those powers
for a period not exceeding one year by a designated parent
agreement under chapter 257A.
Sec. 16. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 15 are effective July 1, 1996.
ARTICLE 7
STATE-AID SYSTEM
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.02,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [ESTABLISHMENT IN NEW LOCATION OR OVER
ESTABLISHED ROADS.] The county board of any county may establish
and locate any county state-aid highway on new location where
there is no existing road, or it may establish and locate the
highway upon or over any established road or street or a
specified portion thereof within its limits; provided, that.
Except as provided in subdivision 8a, no county state-aid
highway shall be established or located within the corporate
limits of any city without the approval of the governing body of
the city, except that when a county state-aid highway is
relocated the approval of the plans by the governing body shall
be deemed to be a transfer of the previous location of the
highway to the jurisdiction of the city. The approval shall be
in the manner and form required by the commissioner.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.02,
subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [APPROVAL BY CITY.] Except as provided in
subdivision 8a, no portion of the county state-aid highway
system lying within the corporate limits of any city shall be
constructed, reconstructed, or improved nor the grade thereof
changed without the prior approval of the plans by the governing
body of such city and the approval shall be in the manner and
form required by the commissioner.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.02, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8a. [DISPUTE RESOLUTION BOARD.] If a city has failed
to approve establishment, construction, reconstruction, or
improvement of a county state-aid highway within its corporate
limits under subdivision 7 or 8, the county board may, by
resolution, request the commissioner to appoint a dispute
resolution board consisting of one county commissioner, one
county engineer, one city council member or city mayor, one city
engineer, and one representative of the department of
transportation. The board shall review the proposed change and
make a recommendation to the commissioner. Notwithstanding any
other law, the commissioner may approve the establishment,
construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a county
state-aid highway recommended by the board.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.07,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [FORMULA.] After deducting for
administrative costs and for the disaster account and research
account and state park roads as heretofore provided, the
remainder of the total sum provided for in section 162.06,
subdivision 1, shall be identified as the apportionment sum and
shall be apportioned by the commissioner to the several counties
on the basis of the needs of the counties as determined in
accordance with the following formula:
(1) An amount equal to ten percent of the apportionment sum
shall be apportioned equally among the 87 counties.
(2) An amount equal to ten percent of the apportionment sum
shall be apportioned among the several counties so that each
county shall receive of such amount the percentage that its
motor vehicle registration for the calendar year preceding the
one last past, determined by residence of registrants, bears to
the total statewide motor vehicle registration.
(3) An amount equal to 30 percent of the apportionment sum
shall be apportioned among the several counties so that each
county shall receive of such amount the percentage that its
total miles lane-miles of approved county state-aid highways
bears to the total miles lane-miles of approved statewide county
state-aid highways. In 1997 and subsequent years no county may
receive, as a result of an apportionment under this clause based
on lane-miles rather than miles of approved county state-aid
highways, an apportionment that is less than its apportionment
in 1996.
(4) An amount equal to 50 percent of the apportionment sum
shall be apportioned among the several counties so that each
county shall receive of such amount the percentage that its
money needs bears to the sum of the money needs of all of the
individual counties; provided, that the percentage of such
amount that each county is to receive shall be adjusted so that
each county shall receive in 1958 a total apportionment at least
ten percent greater than its total 1956 apportionments from the
state road and bridge fund; and provided further that those
counties whose money needs are thus adjusted shall never receive
a percentage of the apportionment sum less than the percentage
that such county received in 1958.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.07,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [SCREENING BOARD.] On or before September 1 of
each year the county engineer of each county shall forward to
the commissioner, on forms prepared by the commissioner, all
information relating to the mileage, in lane-miles, of the
county state-aid highway system in the county, and the money
needs of the county that the commissioner deems necessary in
order to apportion the county state-aid highway fund in
accordance with the formula heretofore set forth. Upon receipt
of the information the commissioner shall appoint a board
consisting of nine the following county engineers. The board
shall be so selected that each county engineer appointed shall
be from a different state highway construction district:
(1) two county engineers from the metropolitan highway
construction district;
(2) one county engineer from each nonmetropolitan highway
district; and
(3) one additional county engineer from each county with a
population of 175,000 or more.
No county engineer shall be appointed under clause (1) or
(2) so as to serve consecutively for more than two four years.
The board shall investigate and review the information submitted
by each county and shall on or before the first day of November
of each year submit its findings and recommendations in writing
as to each county's mileage lane-mileage and money needs to the
commissioner on a form prepared by the commissioner. Final
determination of the mileage lane-mileage of each system and the
money needs of each county shall be made by the commissioner.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 162.07,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [ESTIMATES TO BE MADE IF INFORMATION NOT
PROVIDED.] In the event that any county shall fail to submit the
information provided for herein, the commissioner shall estimate
the mileage lane-mileage and the money needs of the county. The
estimate shall be used in determining the apportionment
formula. The commissioner may withhold payment of the amount
apportioned to the county until the information is submitted.
Presented to the governor April 4, 1996
Signed by the governor April 12, 1996, 2:33 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes