1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to drivers' licenses; modifying provisions 
  1.3             related to driver instruction permits and provisional 
  1.4             drivers' licenses; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.5             sections 171.05, subdivision 2; 171.055, subdivision 2.
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 171.05, 
  1.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 2.  [PERSON LESS THAN 18 YEARS OF AGE.] (a) 
  1.10  Notwithstanding any provision in subdivision 1 to the contrary, 
  1.11  the department may issue an instruction permit to an applicant 
  1.12  who is 15, 16, or 17 years of age and who: 
  1.13     (1) has completed a course of driver education in another 
  1.14  state, has a previously issued valid license from another state, 
  1.15  or is enrolled in either: 
  1.16     (i) a public, private, or commercial driver education 
  1.17  program that is approved by the commissioner of public safety 
  1.18  and that includes classroom and behind-the-wheel training; or 
  1.19     (ii) an approved behind-the-wheel driver education program 
  1.20  when the student is receiving full-time instruction in a home 
  1.21  school within the meaning of sections 120A.22 and 120A.24, the 
  1.22  student is working toward a home-school diploma, the student's 
  1.23  status as a home-school student has been certified by the 
  1.24  superintendent of the school district in which the student 
  1.25  resides, and the student is taking home-classroom driver 
  2.1   training with classroom materials approved by the commissioner 
  2.2   of public safety; 
  2.3      (2) has either (i) completed the classroom phase of 
  2.4   instruction in the driver education program or (ii) enrolled in 
  2.5   a concurrent driver education program that utilizes simulation 
  2.6   or behind-the-wheel instruction as approved by the department of 
  2.7   public safety and completes 15 hours of classroom instruction 
  2.8   and one behind-the-wheel lesson with an instructor before 
  2.9   driving with any other licensed adult age 21 or older; 
  2.10     (3) has passed a test of the applicant's eyesight; 
  2.11     (4) has passed a department-administered test of the 
  2.12  applicant's knowledge of traffic laws; 
  2.13     (5) has completed the required application, which must be 
  2.14  approved by (i) either parent when both reside in the same 
  2.15  household as the minor applicant or, if otherwise, then (ii) the 
  2.16  parent or spouse of the parent having custody or, in the event 
  2.17  there is no court order for custody, then (iii) the parent or 
  2.18  spouse of the parent with whom the minor is living or, if items 
  2.19  (i) to (iii) do not apply, then (iv) the guardian having custody 
  2.20  of the minor or, in the event a person under the age of 18 has 
  2.21  no living father, mother, or guardian, or is married or 
  2.22  otherwise legally emancipated, then (v) the applicant's adult 
  2.23  spouse, adult close family member, or adult employer; provided, 
  2.24  that the approval required by this clause contains a 
  2.25  verification of the age of the applicant and the identity of the 
  2.26  parent, guardian, adult spouse, adult close family member, or 
  2.27  adult employer; and 
  2.28     (6) has paid the fee required in section 171.06, 
  2.29  subdivision 2. 
  2.30     (b) The instruction permit is valid for one year from the 
  2.31  date of application and may be renewed upon payment of a fee 
  2.32  equal to the fee for issuance of an instruction permit under 
  2.33  section 171.06, subdivision 2. 
  2.34     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 171.055, 
  2.35  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.36     Subd. 2.  [USE OF PROVISIONAL LICENSE.] (a) A provisional 
  3.1   license holder may operate a motor vehicle only when every 
  3.2   occupant under the age of 18 has a seat belt or child passenger 
  3.3   restraint system properly fastened.  A person who violates this 
  3.4   paragraph is subject to a fine of $25.  A peace officer may not 
  3.5   issue a citation for a violation of this paragraph unless the 
  3.6   officer lawfully stopped or detained the driver of the motor 
  3.7   vehicle for a moving violation as defined in section 171.04.  
  3.8   The commissioner shall not record a violation of this paragraph 
  3.9   on a person's driving record. 
  3.10     (b) A provisional license holder may not drive with more 
  3.11  than two passengers except when: 
  3.12     (1) accompanied by an immediate family member who is 21 
  3.13  years of age or older; 
  3.14     (2) accompanied by an adult who is 25 years of age or 
  3.15  older; or 
  3.16     (3) the holder has in possession a signed statement from 
  3.17  the holder's parent or guardian authorizing operation of a motor 
  3.18  vehicle with more than two passengers. 
  3.19     (c) A provisional license holder may not drive between 
  3.20  12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent or 
  3.21  guardian, a family member who is 21 years of age or older, or a 
  3.22  designated adult who is 25 years of age or older.  Exceptions 
  3.23  are permitted when the provisional license holder is carrying a 
  3.24  signed statement from the holder's parent or guardian 
  3.25  authorizing the operation of a motor vehicle between 12:00 a.m. 
  3.26  and 5:00 a.m. 
  3.27     (d) If the holder of a provisional license during the 
  3.28  period of provisional licensing incurs (1) a conviction for a 
  3.29  violation of section 169A.20, 169A.33, 169A.35, or sections 
  3.30  169A.50 to 169A.53, (2) a conviction for a crash-related moving 
  3.31  violation, or (3) more than one conviction for a moving 
  3.32  violation that is not crash related, the person may not be 
  3.33  issued a driver's license until 12 consecutive months have 
  3.34  expired since the date of the conviction or until the person 
  3.35  reaches the age of 18 years, whichever occurs first.