Minnesota Session Laws - 1998, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 285-S.F.No. 2163 
                  An act relating to motor vehicles; regulating licensed 
                  dealers; providing exceptions; providing for separate 
                  form for assignment of vehicle title; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 168.27, subdivision 
                  8; 168A.01, by adding a subdivision; and 168A.11, 
                  subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 
                  section 168.27, subdivision 1. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
        168.27, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
        section, the following terms have the meanings given them: 
           (1) "Leasing motor vehicles" means furnishing a motor 
        vehicle for a fee under a bailor-bailee relationship where no 
        incidences of ownership are intended to be transferred other 
        than the right to use the vehicle for a stated period of time. 
           (2) "Brokering motor vehicles" means arranging sales or 
        leases between buyers and sellers, or lessees and lessors, of 
        motor vehicles and receiving a fee for those services. 
           (3) "Wholesaling motor vehicles" means selling new or used 
        motor vehicles to dealers for resale to the public. 
           (4) "Auctioning motor vehicles" means arranging for and 
        handling the sale of motor vehicles, not the property of the 
        auctioneer, to the highest bidder. 
           (5) "Dealer" includes licensed new motor vehicle dealers, 
        used motor vehicle dealers, motor vehicle brokers, wholesalers, 
        auctioneers, lessors of new or used motor vehicles, scrap metal 
        processors, used vehicle parts dealers, and salvage pools. 
           (6) "Commercial building" means a permanent, enclosed 
        building that is on a permanent foundation and connected to 
        local sewer and water facilities or otherwise complying with 
        local sanitary codes, is adapted to commercial use, and conforms 
        to local government zoning requirements.  "Commercial building" 
        may include strip office malls or garages if a separate entrance 
        and a separate address are maintained and the dealership is 
        clearly identified as a separate business. 
           (7) "Commercial office space" means office space occupying 
        all or part of a commercial building. 
           (8) "Horse trailer" is a trailer designed and used to carry 
        horses and other livestock, which has not more than three axles 
        and a maximum gross weight capacity of not more than 24,000 
        pounds. 
           (9) "Isolated or occasional sales or leases" means the sale 
        or lease of not more than five motor vehicles in a 12-month 
        period, exclusive of pioneer or classic motor vehicles as 
        defined in section 168.10, subdivisions 1a and 1b, or sales by a 
        licensed auctioneer selling motor vehicles at an auction if, in 
        the ordinary course of the auctioneer's business, the sale of 
        motor vehicles is incidental to the sale of other real or 
        personal property. 
           (10) "Used motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle for which 
        title has been transferred from the person who first acquired it 
        from the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer.  A new motor 
        vehicle will not be considered a used motor vehicle until it has 
        been placed in actual operation and not held for resale by an 
        owner who has been granted a certificate of title on the motor 
        vehicle and has registered the motor vehicle in accordance with 
        this chapter and chapters 168A and 297B, or the laws of the 
        residence of the owner.  
           (11) (10) "New motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle other 
        than described in paragraph (10) (9).  
           (12) (11) "Junked vehicle" means a vehicle that is declared 
        unrepairable under section 168A.151. 
           (13) (12) "Motor vehicle" has the meaning given it in 
        section 168.011, subdivision 4, and also includes a park trailer 
        as defined in section 168.011, subdivision 8. 
           (14) (13) "Motor vehicle broker" means a person who 
        arranges the sale of a motor vehicle between a buyer and a 
        seller, or the lease of a motor vehicle between a lessee and a 
        lessor, for which service the broker receives a fee. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168.27, 
        subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 8.  [EXEMPTIONS.] (1) Salespeople and other employees 
        of licensed dealers under this section shall not be required to 
        obtain individual licenses. 
           (2) Isolated or occasional sales or leases of new or used 
        motor vehicles shall be exempt from the provisions of this 
        section.  A person who makes only isolated or occasional sales 
        or leases is not required to be licensed under this section, is 
        not considered to be in the business of selling or leasing motor 
        vehicles, and does not qualify to receive dealer plates under 
        subdivision 16.  "Isolated or occasional sales or leases" 
        means:  (i) the sale or lease of a motor vehicle with an actual 
        cash value of $1,000 or less made by a charitable organization; 
        (ii) the sale, purchase, or lease of not more than five motor 
        vehicles in a 12-month period., other than pioneer or classic 
        motor vehicles as defined in section 168.10, subdivisions 1a and 
        1b, or (iii) sales by a licensed auctioneer selling motor 
        vehicles at an auction if, in the ordinary course of the 
        auctioneer's business, the sale of motor vehicles is incidental 
        to the sale of other real or personal property. 
           For purposes of this subdivision, a charitable organization 
        means a nonprofit charitable organization that qualifies for tax 
        exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168A.01, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 17c.  [SECURE REASSIGNMENT.] "Secure reassignment" 
        means a separate form that (1) may be used by a dealer to assign 
        and warrant title to a vehicle; (2) is prescribed by the 
        department; and (3) contains security features complying with 
        the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act, as amended, 
        codified at United States Code, title 49, chapter 327, and 
        regulations of the United States Department of Transportation 
        adopted under that act. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 168A.11, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION UPON TRANSFER.] If a dealer 
        buys a vehicle and holds it for resale and procures the 
        certificate of title from the owner, and complies with 
        subdivision 2 hereof, the dealer need not apply for a 
        certificate of title, but upon transferring the vehicle to 
        another person other than by the creation of a security interest 
        shall promptly execute the assignment and warranty of title by a 
        dealer, showing the names and addresses of the transferee and of 
        any secured party holding a security interest created or 
        reserved at the time of the resale, and the date of the security 
        agreement in the spaces provided therefor on the certificate or 
        secure reassignment.  With respect to motor vehicles subject to 
        the provisions of section 325E.15, the dealer shall also, in the 
        space provided therefor on the certificate or secure 
        reassignment, state the true cumulative mileage registered on 
        the odometer or that the exact mileage is unknown if the 
        odometer reading is known by the transferor to be different from 
        the true mileage.  The transferee shall complete the application 
        for title section on the certificate of title or separate title 
        application form prescribed by the department.  The dealer shall 
        mail or deliver the certificate to the department with the 
        transferee's application for a new certificate and appropriate 
        taxes and fees, within ten days. 
           Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
        enactment. 
           Presented to the governor March 16, 1998 
           Signed by the governor March 18, 1998, 10:07 a.m.