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 377-S.F.No. 2342
An act relating to motor carriers; providing for
deregulation of motor carriers of property;
establishing a carrier registration system; allowing
relief from safety regulations during declared
emergency; creating exemptions from certain workplace
drug and alcohol testing; requiring alcohol testing;
changing the definition of warehouse operator;
amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 221.011,
subdivision 15, and by adding a subdivision; 221.031,
by adding a subdivision; 221.605, subdivision 1; and
231.01, subdivision 5; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 221.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.011,
subdivision 15, is amended to read:
Subd. 15. [MOTOR CARRIER.] "Motor carrier" means a carrier
operating for hire under the authority of this chapter and
subject to the rules and orders of the commissioner and or the
board.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.011, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 47. [MOTOR CARRIER OF PROPERTY.] "Motor carrier of
property" means a motor carrier engaged in the for-hire
transportation of property, other than household goods, in
Minnesota who has filed a registration statement with the
commissioner.
Sec. 3. [221.0251] [CARRIER REGISTRATION.]
Subdivision 1. [REGISTRATION STATEMENT.] A person who
wishes to operate as a motor carrier shall file a complete and
accurate registration statement with the commissioner. A
registration statement must be on a form provided by the
commissioner and include:
(1) the registrant's name, including an assumed or
fictitious name used by the registrant in doing business;
(2) the registrant's mailing address and business telephone
number;
(3) the registrant's federal Employer Identification Number
and Minnesota Business Identification Number and the
identification numbers, if any, assigned to the registrant by
the United States Department of Transportation, Interstate
Commerce Commission, or Environmental Protection Agency;
(4) the name, title, and telephone number of the individual
who is principally responsible for the operation of the
registrant's transportation business;
(5) the principal location from which the registrant
conducts its transportation business and where the records
required by this chapter will be kept;
(6) if different from clause (5), the location in Minnesota
where the records required by this chapter will be available for
inspection and copying by the commissioner;
(7) whether the registrant transports hazardous materials
or hazardous waste;
(8) whether the registrant's business is a corporation,
partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability
company, or sole proprietorship; and
(9) if the registrant is a foreign corporation authorized
to transact business in Minnesota, the state of incorporation
and the name and address of its registered agent.
Subd. 2. [SIGNATURE REQUIRED.] A registration statement
may be signed only by a corporate officer, general partner,
limited liability company board member, or sole proprietor. A
signature must be notarized.
Subd. 3. [CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE;
LOCATION.] (a) The commissioner shall issue a certificate of
registration to a registrant who has filed a registration
statement that complies with subdivisions 1 and 2 and paid the
required fee, has a satisfactory safety rating and, if
applicable, has complied with the financial responsibility
requirements in section 221.141. The commissioner may not issue
a certificate of registration to a registrant who has an
unsatisfactory safety rating.
(b) A certificate of registration must be numbered and bear
an effective date.
(c) A certificate of registration must be kept at the
registrant's principal place of business.
Subd. 4. [DURATION.] A certificate of registration is not
assignable or transferable and is valid until it is suspended,
revoked, or canceled.
Subd. 5. [OBLIGATION TO KEEP INFORMATION CURRENT.] A
registrant shall notify the commissioner in writing of any
change in the information described in subdivision 1.
Sec. 4. [221.026] [MOTOR CARRIERS OF PROPERTY;
EXEMPTIONS.]
Subdivision 1. [REGISTRATION.] No person may engage in the
for-hire transportation of property, other than household goods,
in Minnesota unless the person has filed a registration
statement with the commissioner on a form the commissioner
prescribes.
Subd. 2. [EXEMPTIONS FROM REQUIREMENTS.] Notwithstanding
any other law, a motor carrier of property is exempt from
sections 221.021; 221.041; 221.061; 221.071; 221.072; 221.081;
221.121; 221.122; 221.123; 221.131; 221.132; 221.151; 221.161;
221.172, subdivisions 3 to 8; 221.185, except as provided in
subdivision 4; and 221.296. The exemptions in this subdivision
do not apply to a motor carrier of property while transporting
household goods.
Subd. 3. [SAFETY REGULATIONS.] A motor carrier of property
is subject to those federal regulations incorporated by
reference in section 221.0314, unless exempted from those
regulations by section 221.031.
Subd. 4. [SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF
REGISTRATION.] The commissioner shall suspend or cancel,
following the procedures for suspension or cancellation in
section 221.185, the registration of a motor carrier of property
who fails to file with the commissioner or maintain the
insurance or bond required under section 221.141. A person may
not engage in the for-hire transportation of property, other
than household goods, in Minnesota while the person's
registration is under suspension or cancellation under this
subdivision.
Subd. 5. [LOCAL REGULATION.] Section 221.091 applies to
registration statements under this section to the same extent
that it applies to certificates and permits issued by the board.
Sec. 5. [221.0269] [RELIEF FROM SAFETY REGULATIONS.]
Subdivision 1. [GOVERNOR MAY GRANT RELIEF.] The governor
may declare an emergency and grant relief from any of the
regulations incorporated in section 221.0314 to carriers and
drivers operating motor vehicles in Minnesota to provide
emergency relief during the emergency. The relief granted may
not exceed the duration of the motor carrier's or driver's
direct assistance in providing emergency relief, or 30 days from
the date of the initial declaration of the emergency, whichever
is less.
Subd. 2. [EXTENSION OF RELIEF.] On request of a carrier or
driver, the commissioner may extend the 30-day relief period in
subdivision 1. A request for extension must be in writing and
must give a detailed explanation of the reasons for requesting
additional relief. The commissioner shall consider the severity
of the ongoing emergency and the nature of the relief services
to be provided by the motor carrier or driver in determining
whether to grant an extension. If the commissioner decides to
grant an extension, the extension must include a new time limit
and may include any restrictions on the carrier or driver the
commissioner considers necessary.
Subd. 3. [TERMINATION OF RELIEF EFFORTS.] (a) Upon
termination of direct assistance to an emergency relief effort,
a carrier or driver is subject to the requirements of section
221.0314, except that a driver may return empty to a carrier's
terminal or the driver's normal work reporting location without
complying with that section. A driver who informs the carrier
that the driver needs immediate rest must be permitted at least
eight consecutive hours off duty before the driver is required
to return to the terminal or location. Having returned to the
terminal or other location, the driver must be relieved of all
duty and responsibilities.
(b) When a driver has been relieved of all duty and
responsibilities upon termination of direct assistance to an
emergency relief effort, no carrier shall permit or require any
driver used by it to drive nor shall any such driver drive in
commerce until the driver:
(1) has met the requirements of Code of Federal
Regulations, title 49, section 395.3, paragraph (a); and
(2) has had at least 24 consecutive hours off duty if (i)
the driver has been on duty for more than 60 hours in any seven
consecutive days at the time the driver is relieved of all duty
if the employing carrier does not operate every day in the week,
or (ii) the driver has been on duty for more than 70 hours in
any eight consecutive days at the time the driver is relieved of
all duty if the employing carrier operates every day in the week.
(c) For purposes of this section, direct assistance to an
emergency relief effort terminates when a driver or commercial
motor vehicle is used to transport cargo not destined for the
emergency relief effort, or when the carrier dispatches that
driver or vehicle to another location to begin operations in
commerce.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.031, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 10. [CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND ALCOHOL USE AND
TESTING EXEMPTION.] A person who or political subdivision of the
state which is required to comply with the alcohol and
controlled substances testing requirements of Code of Federal
Regulations, title 49, parts 219, 382, 653, or 654, is exempt
from sections 181.950 to 181.957 if the testing also complies
with the procedures for transportation workplace drug and
alcohol testing programs in Code of Federal Regulations, title
49, part 40.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 221.605,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [FEDERAL REGULATIONS.] (a) Interstate
carriers and private carriers engaged in interstate commerce
shall comply with the federal motor carrier safety regulations,
Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, parts 390 to 398; with
Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, part 40; and with the
rules of the commissioner concerning inspections, vehicle and
driver out-of-service restrictions and requirements, and
vehicle, driver, and equipment checklists. For purposes of
regulating commercial motor vehicles as defined in section
169.781, subdivision 1, the exemption provided in Code of
Federal Regulations, title 49, section 396.11, paragraph (d),
applies in Minnesota only to driveaway-towaway operations.
(b) An interstate carrier or private carrier engaged in
interstate commerce who complies with federal regulations
governing testing for controlled substances and alcohol is
exempt from the requirements of sections 181.950 to 181.957
unless the carrier's drug testing program provides for testing
for controlled substances in addition to those listed in Code of
Federal Regulations, title 49, section 40.21, paragraph (a), or
for alcohol. Persons subject to this section may test for
drugs, in addition to those listed in Code of Federal
Regulations, title 49, section 40.21, paragraph (a), or for
alcohol, only in accordance with sections 181.950 to 181.957 and
rules adopted under those sections.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 231.01,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [WAREHOUSE OPERATOR.] The term "warehouse
operator," as used in this chapter, means and includes every
corporation, company, association, joint stock company or
association, firm, partnership, or individual, their trustees,
assignees, or receivers appointed by any court, controlling,
operating, or managing within this state directly or indirectly,
any building or structure, or any part thereof, or any buildings
or structures, or any other property, and using the same for the
storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or merchandise for
compensation, or who shall hold itself out as being in the
storage or warehouse business, or as offering storage or
warehouse facilities, or advertise for, solicit or accept goods,
wares, or merchandise for storage for compensation, but shall
not include persons, corporations, or other parties operating
open air storage facilities containing minerals, ores, steel, or
rock products such as, but not limited to, aggregates, clays,
railroad ballast, iron ore, copper ore, nickel ore, limestone,
coal, and salt or operating grain or cold storage warehouses, or
storing on a seasonal basis boats, boating accessories,
recreational vehicles or recreational equipment or facilities in
which the party storing goods rents and occupies space as a
tenant and the entire risk of loss is with the tenant pursuant
to written contract between the landlord and tenant.
Sec. 9. [CONVERSION OF PERMITS.]
The holder of a valid class I or petroleum carrier
certificate, a class II, class II-T, class II-L, livestock
carrier, contract carrier, courier services carrier, local
cartage carrier, temperature-controlled commodities or armored
carrier permit, or a hazardous materials carrier who is
registered under Minnesota Statutes, section 221.0355, on the
effective date of this section, is deemed to have complied with
Minnesota Statutes, section 221.0251. The commissioner shall
issue a certificate of registration to any such certificate or
permit holder or registered hazardous materials carrier. Upon
the commissioner's issuance of a certificate of registration,
the existing certificates or permits held become null and void,
except hazardous materials permits.
Sec. 10. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 7 and 9 are effective the day following final
enactment.
Presented to the governor March 25, 1996
Signed by the governor March 27, 1996, 11:15 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes