Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1997, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 250-S.F.No. 435
An act relating to motor vehicles; making technical
change to clarify that pickup truck with slip in
camper may be registered depending upon its weight;
providing registration tax refund for total loss
vehicle damaged by flood; eliminating in 2009 the
authority for the appointment of corporations as
deputy registrars; restricting telephonic access to
certain information related to vehicle registration;
allowing vehicle dealers 21 days to send purchase
receipt to department of public safety if vehicle not
sold; providing for display of fleet vehicle license
plates; removing sunset date relating to recreational
vehicle combination length; allowing waiver of
six-month possession requirement for driver's
instruction permit in limited cases; providing for
driver's license agents; requiring adoption of rules;
requiring study and report on deputy registrar costs;
amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 168.011,
subdivision 25; 168.16; 168.33, subdivision 2;
168.345, subdivision 1; 168A.11, subdivision 2;
169.79; 169.81, subdivision 3c; 171.05, subdivision
2a; 171.06, subdivision 4; 373.33; and 373.35,
subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 171; repealing Minnesota
Statutes 1996, section 171.06, subdivision 4.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168.011,
subdivision 25, is amended to read:
Subd. 25. [RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT.] (a) "Recreational
equipment" means travel trailers including those which telescope
or fold down, chassis mounted campers, house cars, motor homes,
tent trailers, slip in campers, and converted buses that provide
temporary human living quarters. A vehicle is considered to
provide temporary living quarters if it:
(1) is not used as the residence of the owner or occupant;
(2) is used for temporary living quarters by the owner or
occupant while engaged in recreational or vacation activities;
and
(3) is self-propelled or towed on the public streets or
highways incidental to the recreational or vacation activities.
(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, a motor home
means a unit designed to provide temporary living quarters,
built into as an integral part of, or permanently attached to, a
self-propelled motor vehicle chassis or van. A motor home must
contain permanently installed independent life support systems
which meet the American National Standards Institute standard
number A119.2 for recreational vehicles and provide at least
four of the following facilities, two of which must be from the
systems listed in clauses (1), (5), and (6): (1) cooking
facility with liquid propane gas supply, (2) refrigerator, (3)
self-contained toilet or a toilet connected to a plumbing system
with connection for external water disposal, (4) heating or air
conditioning separate from the vehicle engine, (5) a potable
water supply system including a sink with faucet either
self-contained or with connections for an external source, and
(6) separate 110-125 volt electrical power supply. For purposes
of this subdivision, "permanently installed" means built into or
attached as an integral part of a chassis or van, and designed
not to be removed except for repair or replacement. A system
which is readily removable or held in place by clamps or tie
downs is not permanently installed.
(c) Motor homes include but are not limited to, the
following:
(1) Type A Motor Home -- a raw chassis upon which is built
a driver's compartment and an entire body that provides
temporary living quarters as defined in this paragraph;
(2) Type B Motor Home -- a van-type vehicle that conforms
to the motor home definition in this paragraph and has been
completed or altered by the final stage manufacturer; and
(3) Type C Motor Home -- an incomplete vehicle upon which
is permanently attached a body designed to provide temporary
living quarters as defined in this paragraph.
(c) (d) Slip in campers are mounted into a vehicle commonly
known as a pickup truck, in the pickup box, either by bolting
through the floor of the pickup box or by firmly clamping to the
side of the pickup box. The vehicle must may not be registered
as a passenger automobile recreational vehicle.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1996, 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 is declared by an insurance company to be a total loss
due to flood damage, 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. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168.33,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [POWERS REGARDING DEPUTY REGISTRARS.] (a) The
registrar may appoint, hire, and discharge and fix the
compensation of the necessary employees, in the manner provided
by law, as may be required to enable the registrar to properly
carry out the duties imposed by this chapter. The registrar may
appoint, and for cause discontinue, a deputy registrar for any
statutory or home rule charter city as the public interest and
convenience may require, without regard to whether the county
auditor of the county in which the city is situated has been
appointed as the deputy registrar for the county or has been
discontinued as the deputy registrar for the county, and without
regard to whether the county in which the city is situated has
established a county license bureau which issues motor vehicle
licenses as provided in section 373.32.
(b) The registrar may appoint, and for cause discontinue, a
deputy registrar for any statutory or home rule charter city as
the public interest and convenience may require, if the auditor
for the county in which the city is situated chooses not to
accept appointment as the deputy registrar for the county or is
discontinued as a deputy registrar, or if the county in which
the city is situated has not established a county license bureau
which issues motor vehicle licenses as provided in section
373.32. A person appointed by the registrar as a deputy
registrar for any statutory or home rule charter city must be a
resident of the county in which the city is situated.
(c) The registrar may appoint, and for cause discontinue,
the county auditor of each county as a deputy registrar. Upon
approval of the county board, the auditor, with the approval of
the director of motor vehicles, may appoint, and for cause
discontinue, the clerk or equivalent officer of each statutory
or home rule charter city or any other person as a deputy
registrar as public interest and convenience may require,
regardless of the appointee's county of residence. At the
request of the governing body of a statutory or home rule
charter city, the auditor shall appoint, and may for cause
discontinue, the clerk or equivalent officer of a city, or
another officer or employee of the city designated by the
governing body, as a deputy registrar:
(1) if the city is a county seat or, if not, is larger than
the seat of the county in which it is situated; and
(2) no office of a deputy registrar is situated within the
city or within 15 miles of the city by the most direct public
route.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision, a person other
than a county auditor or a director of a county license bureau,
who was appointed by the registrar before August 1, 1976, as a
deputy registrar for any statutory or home rule charter city,
may continue to serve as deputy registrar and may be
discontinued for cause only by the registrar. The county
auditor who appointed the deputy registrars is responsible for
the acts of deputy registrars appointed by the auditor. Each
deputy, before entering upon the discharge of duties, shall take
and subscribe an oath to faithfully discharge the duties and to
uphold the laws of the state. If a deputy registrar appointed
under this subdivision is not an officer or employee of a county
or statutory or home rule charter city, the deputy shall in
addition give bond to the state in the sum of $10,000, or a
larger sum as may be required by the registrar, conditioned upon
the faithful discharge of duties as deputy registrar.
(e) Until January 1, 2009, a corporation governed by
chapter 302A may be appointed a deputy registrar. Upon
application by an individual serving as a deputy registrar and
the giving of the requisite bond as provided in this
subdivision, personally assured by the individual or another
individual approved by the commissioner of public safety, a
corporation named in an application shall become the duly
appointed and qualified successor to the deputy registrar. The
appointment of any corporation as a deputy registrar expires
January 1, 2009. A county board shall appoint, or the
commissioner shall appoint if the county board declines to do
so, an individual as successor to the corporation as a deputy
registrar. The county board or commissioner shall appoint as
the successor agent to a corporation whose appointment expires
under this paragraph an officer of the corporation if the
officer applies for appointment before July 1, 2009.
(f) Each deputy registrar appointed under this subdivision
shall keep and maintain, in a convenient public place within or
in close proximity to the place for which appointed, a
registration and motor vehicle tax collection bureau, to be
approved by the registrar, for the registration of motor
vehicles and the collection of taxes on motor vehicles. The
deputy registrar shall keep records and make reports to the
registrar as the registrar, from time to time, may require. The
records must be maintained at the facility of the deputy
registrar. The records and facilities of the deputy registrar
must at all times be open to the inspection of the registrar or
the registrar's agents. The deputy registrar shall report to
the registrar by the next working day following receipt all
registrations made and taxes and fees collected by the deputy
registrar. The filing fee imposed under subdivision 7 must be
deposited in the treasury of the place for which appointed or,
if not a public official, a deputy shall retain the filing fee,
but the registration tax and any additional fees for delayed
registration the deputy registrar has collected the deputy
registrar shall deposit by the next working day following
receipt in an approved state depository to the credit of the
state through the state treasurer. The place for which the
deputy registrar is appointed through its governing body must
provide the deputy registrar with facilities and personnel to
carry out the duties imposed by this subdivision if the deputy
is a public official. In all other cases, the deputy shall
maintain a suitable facility for serving the public.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168.345,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [TELEPHONE INFORMATION.] Information
concerning motor vehicle registrations shall not be furnished on
the telephone to any person except the personnel of law
enforcement agencies and the personnel of federal, state, and
local governmental units motor vehicle and registration offices.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168A.11,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [PURCHASE RECEIPT.] A dealer, on buying a vehicle
which is subject to an outstanding for which the seller does not
present a certificate of title, shall at the time of taking
delivery of the vehicle execute in triplicate a purchase receipt
for the vehicle in a form designated by the department, and
deliver one copy to the seller. Within 48 hours thereafter When
a vehicle purchased by a dealer has not been resold after 21
days, the dealer shall mail, transmit, or deliver one copy
of such the receipt to the department.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.79, is
amended to read:
169.79 [VEHICLE REGISTRATION.]
No person shall operate, drive or park a motor vehicle on
any highway unless the vehicle is registered in accordance with
the laws of this state and has the number plates for the current
year only, except as provided in section 168.12, subdivision 2f,
as assigned to it by the commissioner of public safety,
conspicuously displayed thereon in a manner that the view of any
plate is not obstructed. If the vehicle is a semitrailer, the
number plate displayed must be assigned to the registered owner
and correlate to the certificate of title documentation on file
with the department and shall not display a year indicator. If
the vehicle is a motorcycle, motor scooter, motorized bicycle,
motorcycle sidecar, trailer, semitrailer, or vehicle displaying
a dealer plate, one plate shall be displayed on the rear
thereof; if the vehicle is a truck-tractor, road-tractor or farm
truck, as defined in section 168.011, subdivision 17, but
excluding from that definition semitrailers and trailers, one
plate shall be displayed on the front thereof; if it is any
other kind of motor vehicle, one plate shall be displayed on the
front and one on the rear thereof. All plates shall be securely
fastened so as to prevent them from swinging. The person
driving the motor vehicle shall keep the plate legible and
unobstructed and free from grease, dust, or other blurring
material so that the lettering shall be plainly visible at all
times. It is unlawful to cover any assigned letters and numbers
or the name of the state of origin of a license plate with any
material whatever, including any clear or colorless material
that affects the plate's visibility or reflectivity. License
plates issued to vehicles registered under section 168.017 must
display the month of expiration in the lower left corner as
viewed facing the plate and the year of expiration in the lower
right corner as viewed facing the plate. License plates issued
to vehicles registered under section 168.127 must display either
fleet registration validation stickers in the lower right corner
as viewed facing the plates or distinctive license plates,
issued by the registrar, with "FLEET REG" embossed on the bottom
center portion of the plate.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.81,
subdivision 3c, is amended to read:
Subd. 3c. [RECREATIONAL VEHICLE COMBINATIONS.]
Notwithstanding subdivision 3, a recreational vehicle
combination may be operated without a permit if:
(1) the combination does not consist of more than three
vehicles, and the towing rating of the pickup truck is equal to
or greater than the total weight of all vehicles being towed;
(2) the combination does not exceed 60 feet in length;
(3) the camper-semitrailer in the combination does not
exceed 28 feet in length until August 1, 1997, and 26 feet
thereafter;
(4) the operator of the combination is at least 18 years of
age;
(5) the trailer carrying a watercraft meets all
requirements of law;
(6) the trailers in the combination are connected to the
pickup truck and each other in conformity with section 169.82;
and
(7) the combination is not operated within the seven-county
metropolitan area, as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2,
during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 171.05,
subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. [PERMIT FOR SIX MONTHS.] (a) 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.
(b) Until May 31, 1999, the commissioner may waive the
six-month requirement of this subdivision for an applicant for a
class D driver's license if:
(1) at least six months has elapsed since the applicant
successfully completed the written examination requirement of
the approved driver education program pursuant to subdivision 2;
and
(2) the applicant subsequently obtained a permit and
successfully completed all of the approved driver education
program requirements before applying for the class D driver's
license.
This paragraph is effective the day following final enactment
and expires June 1, 1999.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 171.06,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [APPLICATION, FILING; FEE RETAINED FOR EXPENSES.]
Any applicant for an instruction permit, a driver's license,
restricted license, or duplicate license may file an application
with a court administrator of the district court or at a state
office. The administrator or state office shall receive and
accept the application. To cover all expenses involved in
receiving, accepting, or forwarding to the department
applications and fees, the court administrator of the district
court may retain a county fee of $3.50 for each application for
a Minnesota identification card, instruction permit, duplicate
license, driver license, or restricted license. The amount
allowed to be retained by the court administrator of the
district court shall be paid into the county treasury and
credited to the general revenue fund of the county. Before the
end of the first working day following the final day of an
established reporting period, the court administrator shall
forward to the department all applications and fees collected
during the reporting period, less the amount herein allowed to
be retained for expenses. The court administrators of the
district courts may appoint agents to assist in accepting
applications, but the administrators shall require every agent
to forward to the administrators by whom the agent is appointed
all applications accepted and fees collected by the agent,
except that an agent shall retain the county fee to cover the
agent's expenses involved in receiving, accepting or forwarding
the applications and fees. The court administrators shall be
responsible for the acts of agents appointed by them and for the
forwarding to the department of all applications accepted and
those fees collected by agents and by themselves as are required
to be forwarded to the department. The commissioner shall
suspend or revoke the appointment of a license agent or issue a
correction order to a license agent who violates any requirement
of this section or when grounds exist that would justify
revocation or suspension of a deputy registrar appointment under
Minnesota Rules, parts 7406.0800 to 7406.1000. To revoke or
suspend an appointment, the commissioner shall follow procedures
for suspension and revocation hearings set forth in Minnesota
Rules, parts 7406.1100 to 7406.2600.
Sec. 10. [171.061] [DRIVER'S LICENSE AGENTS.]
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section:
(1) "applicant" means an individual applying for a driver's
license, restricted license, duplicate license, instruction
permit, Minnesota identification card, or motorized bicycle
operator's permit; and
(2) "application" refers to an application for a driver's
license, restricted license, duplicate license, instruction
permit, Minnesota identification card, or motorized bicycle
operator's permit.
Subd. 2. [APPOINTMENT AND DISCONTINUANCE.] (a) The
commissioner of public safety may appoint an individual, and for
cause discontinue the appointment of an agent, to serve as a
driver's license agent.
(b) A county board may appoint an individual, and for cause
discontinue the appointment of an agent, to serve as an agent,
pursuant to sections 373.32 to 373.38, with the approval of the
commissioner. If a county board does not discontinue an agent's
appointment, although cause for discontinuance exists, the
commissioner may discontinue the appointment. If a county board
does not appoint an individual, the commissioner may establish
an office and appoint an individual to accept applications as
the public interest and convenience may require.
(c) The county board is responsible for the acts of an
agent appointed by the board and for forwarding to the
department all applications accepted and fees collected by the
agent as required by the department.
Subd. 3. [APPLICATIONS.] An applicant may file an
application with an agent. The agent shall receive and accept
applications in accordance with the laws and rules of the
department of public safety for a driver's license, restricted
license, duplicate license, instruction permit, Minnesota
identification card, or motorized bicycle operator's permit.
Subd. 4. [FEE; EQUIPMENT.] (a) The agent may charge and
retain a filing fee of $3.50 for each application. Except as
provided in paragraph (b), the fee shall cover all expenses
involved in receiving, accepting, or forwarding to the
department the applications and fees required under sections
171.02, subdivision 3; 171.06, subdivisions 2 and 2a; and
171.07, subdivisions 3 and 3a.
(b) An agent with photo identification equipment provided
by the department before January 1, 1999, may retain the photo
identification equipment until the agent's appointment
terminates. The department shall maintain the photo
identification equipment for these agents. An agent appointed
before January 1, 1999, who does not have photo identification
equipment provided by the department, and any new agent
appointed after December 31, 1998, shall procure and maintain
photo identification equipment. All photo identification
equipment must be compatible with standards established by the
department.
(c) A filing fee retained by the agent employed by a county
board must be paid into the county treasury and credited to the
general revenue fund of the county. An agent who is not an
employee of the county shall retain the filing fee in lieu of
county employment or salary and is considered an independent
contractor for pension purposes, coverage under the Minnesota
state retirement system, or membership in the public employees
retirement association.
(d) Before the end of the first working day following the
final day of the reporting period established by the department,
the agent must forward to the department all applications and
fees collected during the reporting period except as provided in
paragraph (c).
Subd. 5. [DISCONTINUANCE OR TRANSFER OF APPOINTMENT.] (a)
An agent shall notify the department no less than 30 days before
the discontinuance of service.
(b) In the event of the notice specified in paragraph (a);
death or retirement of the agent; or revocation or
discontinuance of the appointment of the agent by the county
board or commissioner, the appointment terminates and all
equipment provided by the department reverts to the department.
Subd. 6. [RULES.] The commissioner shall adopt rules that
prescribe:
(1) criteria, procedures, and requirements for appointing
an individual as an agent of the commissioner;
(2) criteria for establishment, operation, management,
location, and movement of a license application office;
(3) standards for the uniform administration of laws and
rules governing the receipt of applications and fees for
applications;
(4) number of applications to be processed;
(5) standards for submitting applications including valid
forms of identification, depositing funds, maintaining records,
and holding proper bonds; and
(6) standards for discontinuing the individual's
appointment and for enforcement action.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 373.33, is
amended to read:
373.33 [STATE LICENSES MAY BE ISSUED.]
A county license bureau may issue, process or assist in
preparing an application for any license or permit issued by the
state or a state official including but not limited to game and
fish, trapping, wild rice harvest, motor vehicle, manufactured
home, trailer, snowmobile, watercraft or drivers license or as
many of the licenses as designated by the county board. The
processing of driver's license applications by a county license
bureau is subject to the provisions of section 171.061. This
authority does not include the issuance of marriage licenses.
The county board may delegate the responsibility for the
issuance of any county license or permit to the county license
bureau.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 373.35,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [AUDITOR OR BOARD APPOINTEE.] The county
auditor shall serve as the director of the county license bureau
or, if the auditor chooses not to serve, the county board shall
appoint any other county officer or employee, or any other
person, to serve as the director upon the terms and conditions
the county board deems advisable. The county board shall set
the compensation of the director and may provide for the
expenses of the office including the premium of any bond
required to be furnished by the director. The director shall
have the powers and duties imposed on the county officer who
previously had the authority to issue or process the application
for any license referred to in section 373.32.
Notwithstanding section 168.33, subdivision 2, the
commissioner of public safety may appoint, and for cause
discontinue, the director as the deputy registrar of motor
vehicles in the county. If the director is a deputy registrar,
all provisions of section 168.33 and Minnesota Rules, chapter
7406, apply to a county license bureau. If the director is a
driver's license agent, section 171.061 and rules promulgated
thereunder apply to the county license board director.
Sec. 13. [REAPPOINTMENT OF DRIVER'S LICENSE AGENTS.]
The appointment of a driver's license agent appointed
before January 1, 1999, expires on January 1, 1999, unless the
agent applies to the commissioner before that date for
reappointment to serve as an agent under Minnesota Statutes,
section 171.061, subdivision 2, paragraph (a) or (c). The
commissioner shall reappoint any agent who applies under this
section unless the commissioner determines that the applicant's
performance as a driver's license agent would be grounds for
discontinuance as an agent under the rules adopted under
Minnesota Statutes, section 171.061, subdivision 6, clause (6).
Sec. 14. [TRANSITION.]
The court administrators of the district courts may not
appoint an agent before January 1, 1999, under Minnesota
Statutes, section 171.06, other than an agent appointed to
replace or succeed an already existing agent.
Sec. 15. [APPOINTMENT BY THE COMMISSIONER.]
Notwithstanding the effective date of section 10,
subdivisions 1 to 4, the commissioner shall appoint an applicant
that is an individual or corporation, and may for cause
discontinue the appointment of an agent, as a driver's license
agent if the applicant:
(1) is a deputy registrar who is not a public official
operating in Dakota county;
(2) has operated for at least nine years the office at
which the applicant will carry out the functions of a driver's
license agent; and
(3) procures and maintains photo identification equipment
satisfactory to the commissioner.
An agent appointed under this section is subject to section 13.
Sec. 16. [STUDY OF DEPUTY REGISTRAR TRANSACTION COSTS.]
The commissioner of public safety shall investigate,
survey, and report findings regarding the costs of deputy
registrar transactions in Minnesota. The commissioner shall
submit a written report to the legislature by January 15, 1998.
Sec. 17. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 171.06, subdivision 4, is
repealed.
Sec. 18. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 10, subdivisions 5 and 6; 14; and 15 are effective
the day following final enactment. Sections 9; 10, subdivisions
1 to 4; 11; 12; 16; and 17 are effective January 1, 1999.
Presented to the governor May 30, 1997
Signed by the governor June 3, 1997, 2:12 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes