Minnesota Session Laws - 2005, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 160-H.F.No. 974 
                  An act relating to public safety; providing that a 
                  peace officer may operate any vehicle or combination 
                  of vehicles; making clarifying changes; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 171.02, subdivision 2.
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, 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 when 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, 
        when operated by a firefighter while on duty, or by 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; 
           (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; 
           (6) operating any vehicle or combination of vehicles when 
        operated by a licensed peace officer while on duty; and 
           (7) towing 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: 
           (1) operating all vehicles in class C, and class D 
        vehicles, and all other single-unit vehicles including, with a 
        passenger endorsement, buses.  The holder of a class B license 
        may tow; and 
           (2) towing only vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 
        10,000 pounds or less. 
           (e) Class A; valid for operating any vehicle or combination 
        of vehicles. 
           [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
        following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor May 31, 2005 
           Signed by the governor June 2, 2005, 2:10 p.m.