Minnesota Session Laws - 2001, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 97-S.F.No. 2225 
                  An act relating to drivers' licenses; allowing certain 
                  school buses to be operated by licensed child care 
                  providers; establishing pilot project to allow certain 
                  type A school bus to be operated by holder of Class D 
                  driver's license under limited conditions; making 
                  clarifying changes; providing misdemeanor penalty; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 169.01, 
                  subdivision 75; 169.448, subdivision 1; 171.02, 
                  subdivisions 2, 2a. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 169.01, 
        subdivision 75, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 75.  [COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.] (a) "Commercial 
        motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle or combination of motor 
        vehicles used to transport passengers or property if the motor 
        vehicle: 
           (1) has a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds; 
           (2) has a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight of more 
        than 10,000 pounds and the combination of vehicles has a 
        combined gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds; 
           (3) is a bus; 
           (4) is of any size and is used in the transportation of 
        hazardous materials, except for those vehicles having a gross 
        vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less while carrying in bulk 
        tanks a total of not more than 200 gallons of petroleum products 
        and liquid fertilizer; or 
           (5) is outwardly equipped and identified as a school bus, 
        except for type A-II and type III school buses as defined in 
        subdivision 6, paragraph (c). 
           (b) For purposes of chapter 169A: 
           (1) a commercial motor vehicle does not include a farm 
        truck, firefighting equipment, or recreational equipment being 
        operated by a person within the scope of section 171.02, 
        subdivision 2, paragraph (b); and 
           (2) a commercial motor vehicle includes a vehicle capable 
        of or designed to meet the standards described in paragraph (a), 
        clause (2), whether or not the towed unit is attached to the 
        truck-tractor at the time of the violation or stop. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 169.448, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [RESTRICTIONS ON APPEARANCE; MISDEMEANOR.] 
        (a) A bus that is not used as a school bus may not be operated 
        on a street or highway unless it is painted a color 
        significantly different than national school bus glossy yellow 
        or Minnesota school bus golden orange.  
           (b) A bus that is not used as a school bus or Head Start 
        bus may not be operated if it is equipped with school bus or 
        Head Start bus-related equipment and printing. 
           (c) A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.  
           (d) This subdivision does not apply to a school bus owned 
        by or under contract to a school district operated as a charter 
        or leased bus.  
           (e) This subdivision does not apply to a school bus 
        operated by a licensed child care provider if: 
           (1) the stop arm is removed; 
           (2) the eight-light system is deactivated; 
           (3) the school bus is identified as a "child care bus" in 
        letters at least eight inches high on the front and rear top of 
        the bus; and 
           (4) the name, address, and telephone number of the owner or 
        operator of the bus is identified on each front door of the bus 
        in letters not less than three inches high. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 171.02, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [DRIVER'S LICENSE CLASSIFICATIONS, ENDORSEMENTS, 
        EXEMPTIONS.] (a) Drivers' licenses shall be classified according 
        to the types of vehicles which may be driven by the holder of 
        each type or class of license.  The commissioner may, as 
        appropriate, subdivide the classes listed in this subdivision 
        and issue licenses classified accordingly.  Except as provided 
        in subdivision 2a, no class of license shall be valid to operate 
        a motorcycle, school bus, tank vehicle, double-trailer or 
        triple-trailer combination, vehicle transporting hazardous 
        materials, or bus, unless so endorsed. 
        There shall be four general classes of licenses as follows: 
           (b) Class D; valid for: 
           (1) operating all farm trucks operated by (i) the owner, 
        (ii) an immediate family member of the owner, (iii) an employee 
        of the owner not primarily employed to operate the farm truck, 
        within 150 miles of the farm, or (iv) an employee of the owner 
        employed during harvest to operate the farm truck for the first, 
        continuous transportation of agricultural products from the 
        production site or on-farm storage site to any other location 
        within 50 miles of that site; 
           (2) operating fire trucks and emergency fire equipment, 
        whether or not in excess of 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, 
        operated by a firefighter while on duty, or a tiller operator 
        employed by a fire department who drives the rear portion of a 
        midmount aerial ladder truck; 
           (3) operating recreational equipment as defined in section 
        168.011, subdivision 25, that is operated for personal use; and 
           (4) operating all single unit vehicles except vehicles with 
        a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds, vehicles 
        designed to carry more than 15 passengers including the driver, 
        and vehicles that carry hazardous materials; and 
           (5) notwithstanding paragraph (c), operating a type A 
        school bus without a school bus endorsement if: 
           (i) the bus has a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or 
        less; 
           (ii) the bus is designed to transport 15 or fewer 
        passengers, including the driver; and 
           (iii) the requirements of subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), 
        are satisfied, as determined by the commissioner. 
        The holder of a class D license may also tow vehicles if the 
        combination of vehicles has a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 
        pounds or less. 
           (c) Class C; valid for:  
           (1) operating class D vehicles; 
           (2) with a hazardous materials endorsement, transporting 
        hazardous materials in class D vehicles; and 
           (3) with a school bus endorsement, operating school buses 
        designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers, including the 
        driver. 
           (d) Class B; valid for operating all vehicles in class C, 
        class D, and all other single unit vehicles including, with a 
        passenger endorsement, buses.  The holder of a class B license 
        may tow only vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 
        pounds or less. 
           (e) Class A; valid for operating any vehicle or combination 
        thereof of vehicles. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 171.02, 
        subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2a.  [EXCEPTIONS.] (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 2, 
        (1) a hazardous materials endorsement is not required to operate 
        a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less 
        while carrying in bulk tanks a total of not more than 200 
        gallons of petroleum products and (2) a class C license or 
        hazardous materials endorsement is not required to operate a 
        farm vehicle as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 
        49, section 390.5, having a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 
        pounds or less while carrying in bulk tanks a total of not more 
        than 1,500 gallons of liquid fertilizer. 
           (b) Notwithstanding subdivision 2, paragraph (c), the 
        holder of a class D driver's license, without a school bus 
        endorsement, may operate a type A school bus described in 
        subdivision 2, paragraph (b), under the following conditions: 
           (1) The operator is an employee as of the day following 
        final enactment of this act of the entity that owns, leases, or 
        contracts for the school bus. 
           (2) The operator drives the school bus only from points of 
        origin to points of destination, not including home-to-school 
        trips to pick up or drop off students.  
           (3) The operator is prohibited from using the eight-light 
        system.  Violation of this clause is a misdemeanor. 
           (4) The operator's employer has adopted and implemented a 
        policy that provides for annual training and certification of 
        the operator in: 
           (i) safe operation of the type of school bus the operator 
        will be driving; 
           (ii) understanding student behavior, including issues 
        relating to students with disabilities; 
           (iii) encouraging orderly conduct of students on the bus 
        and handling incidents of misconduct appropriately; 
           (iv) knowing and understanding relevant laws, rules of the 
        road, and local school bus safety policies; 
           (v) handling emergency situations; and 
           (vi) safe loading and unloading of students. 
           (5) A background check or background investigation of the 
        operator has been conducted that meets the requirements under 
        section 122A.18, subdivision 8, or 123B.03 for teachers; section 
        144.057 or 245A.04 for day care employees; or section 171.321, 
        subdivision 3, for all other persons operating a type A school 
        bus under this paragraph. 
           (6) Operators shall submit to a physical examination as 
        required by section 171.321, subdivision 2. 
           (7) The operator's driver's license is verified annually by 
        the entity that owns, leases, or contracts for the school bus. 
           (8) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under 
        section 609.02, of violating section 169A.25, 169A.26, 169A.27, 
        169A.31, 169A.51, or 169A.52, or a similar statute or ordinance 
        of another state is precluded from operating a school bus for 
        five years from the date of conviction. 
           (9) A person who sustains a conviction, as defined under 
        section 609.02, of a fourth moving offense in violation of 
        chapter 169 is precluded from operating a school bus for one 
        year from the date of the last conviction. 
           (10) Students riding the school bus must have training 
        required under section 123B.90, subdivision 2. 
           (11) An operator must be trained in the proper use of child 
        safety restraints as set forth in the National Highway Traffic 
        Safety Administration's "Guideline for the Safe Transportation 
        of Pre-school Age Children in School Buses." 
           (12) Annual certification of the requirements listed in 
        this paragraph must be maintained under separate file at the 
        business location for each operator licensed under this 
        paragraph and subdivision 2, paragraph (b), clause (5).  The 
        business manager, school board, governing body of a nonpublic 
        school, or any other entity that owns, leases, or contracts for 
        the school bus operating under this paragraph is responsible for 
        maintaining these files for inspection. 
           (13) The school bus must bear a current certificate of 
        inspection issued under section 169.451. 
           (14) The word "School" on the front and rear of the bus 
        must be covered by a sign that reads "Activities" when the bus 
        is being operated under authority of this paragraph. 
           Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION.] 
           (a) Sections 1 to 4 are effective July 1, 2001. 
           (b) The amendments in sections 3 and 4 to Minnesota 
        Statutes, section 171.02, expire July 1, 2003. 
           (c) The amendment in section 1 to Minnesota Statutes, 
        section 169.01, subdivision 75, expires July 1, 2003. 
           Presented to the governor May 11, 2001 
           Signed by the governor May 15, 2001, 1:59 p.m.