1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to drivers' licenses; creating a spinal cord 
  1.3             injury research board and prescribing its powers and 
  1.4             duties; creating a spinal cord injury trust account; 
  1.5             requiring applications for drivers' licenses to allow 
  1.6             applicants to donate $1 for spinal cord injury 
  1.7             research; increasing fee for reinstatement of driver's 
  1.8             license after certain alcohol-related revocations and 
  1.9             dedicating the increase to the spinal cord injury 
  1.10            trust account; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.11            sections 144.662; 144.664, subdivision 5; 171.06, 
  1.12            subdivision 2; Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, 
  1.13            section 171.29, subdivision 2; proposing coding for 
  1.14            new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  [144.6615] [SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH BOARD.] 
  1.17     Subdivision 1.  [BOARD ESTABLISHED.] (a) A spinal cord 
  1.18  injury research board is established within the department of 
  1.19  health to administer spinal cord injury research projects and 
  1.20  administer the spinal cord injury research trust account under 
  1.21  section 144.6616.  The purpose of research projects administered 
  1.22  by the board shall be neurological research towards a cure for 
  1.23  spinal cord injuries and their effects.  The members of the 
  1.24  spinal cord injury research board shall include, but not be 
  1.25  limited to, representatives in the fields of neuroscience, 
  1.26  neurology, neurosurgery, neuropharmacology, and spinal cord 
  1.27  rehabilitative medicine and at least two members of the public 
  1.28  with spinal cord injuries.  The board shall be composed of 13 
  1.29  members, seven of whom shall be appointed by the governor, two 
  1.30  of whom shall be appointed by the senate rules committee, two of 
  2.1   whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house, one of whom 
  2.2   shall be appointed by the minority leader of the senate, and one 
  2.3   of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the house.  
  2.4      (b) Board member terms, compensation, and removal are 
  2.5   governed by section 15.059.  Notwithstanding section 15.059, 
  2.6   subdivision 5, the spinal cord injury research board does not 
  2.7   expire.  
  2.8      (c) A majority of the full authorized membership of the 
  2.9   board shall constitute a quorum.  
  2.10     (d) One member of the board shall be chosen by the governor 
  2.11  to serve as chair. 
  2.12     (e) Meetings of the board shall be held at least twice a 
  2.13  year but may be held more frequently as deemed necessary, 
  2.14  subject to call by the chair or by request of a majority of the 
  2.15  board members.  Board meetings shall concern, among other 
  2.16  things, policy matters relating to spinal cord injury research 
  2.17  projects and programs, research progress reports, and other 
  2.18  matters necessary to carry out the intent of this section. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [POWERS AND DUTIES.] The spinal cord injury 
  2.20  research board shall: 
  2.21     (1) formulate policies and procedures necessary to carry 
  2.22  out the provisions of this section; 
  2.23     (2) solicit, receive, and review applications from public 
  2.24  and private agencies and organizations and qualified research 
  2.25  institutions for grants from the spinal cord injury research 
  2.26  trust account under section 144.6616 to conduct research 
  2.27  programs that focus on the treatment and cure of spinal cord 
  2.28  injuries.  The board shall make recommendations to the 
  2.29  commissioner of health, and the commissioner may grant approval 
  2.30  of applications for grants from those applications recommended 
  2.31  by the board; 
  2.32     (3) encourage the development of spinal cord research 
  2.33  projects; 
  2.34     (4) ensure that state funds appropriated for spinal cord 
  2.35  injury research are not diverted to any other use; and 
  2.36     (5) provide the governor and the legislature an annual 
  3.1   report by January 31 of each year setting forth the status of 
  3.2   funds appropriated for spinal cord injury research and the 
  3.3   progress of the board in terms of the results of its spinal cord 
  3.4   injury research efforts. 
  3.5      Subd. 3.  [BOARD AUTHORITY.] The spinal cord injury 
  3.6   research board may: 
  3.7      (1) recommend proposed rules to the commissioner regarding 
  3.8   the administration of the board; 
  3.9      (2) employ an executive director and other personnel as may 
  3.10  be necessary; 
  3.11     (3) establish a system for soliciting, evaluating, and 
  3.12  approving proposals for spinal cord research projects; 
  3.13     (4) apply for and accept grants of money from the federal 
  3.14  government; 
  3.15     (5) enter into contracts with individuals, organizations, 
  3.16  and institutions necessary or incidental to the performance of 
  3.17  its duties; and 
  3.18     (6) accept gifts, grants, and bequests of money from 
  3.19  individuals, foundations, corporations, governmental agencies, 
  3.20  and other organizations and institutions. 
  3.21     Sec. 2.  [144.6616] [SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH TRUST 
  3.22  ACCOUNT.] 
  3.23     Subdivision 1.  [ACCOUNT ESTABLISHED.] There is created in 
  3.24  the state treasury an account known as the spinal cord injury 
  3.25  research trust account.  The account shall consist of money 
  3.26  appropriated for its purpose, money collected from the driver's 
  3.27  license reinstatement fee under section 171.29, subdivision 2, 
  3.28  and donations under section 171.06, subdivision 2. 
  3.29     Subd. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] Money in the account is 
  3.30  appropriated to the spinal cord injury research board for 
  3.31  administrative costs of the board and for funding spinal cord 
  3.32  injury research projects administered by the board. 
  3.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.662, is 
  3.34  amended to read: 
  3.35     144.662 [TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND SPINAL CORD INJURY 
  3.36  REGISTRY; PURPOSE.] 
  4.1      The commissioner of health shall establish and maintain a 
  4.2   central registry of persons who sustain traumatic brain injury 
  4.3   or spinal cord injury.  The purpose of the registry is to:  
  4.4      (1) collect information to facilitate the development of 
  4.5   injury prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs and 
  4.6   serve as a resource for research and evaluation of traumatic 
  4.7   brain injuries and spinal cord injuries and available 
  4.8   services; and 
  4.9      (2) ensure the provision to persons with traumatic brain 
  4.10  injury or spinal cord injury of information regarding 
  4.11  appropriate public or private agencies that provide 
  4.12  rehabilitative services so that injured persons may obtain 
  4.13  needed services to alleviate injuries and avoid secondary 
  4.14  problems, such as mental illness and chemical dependency; and 
  4.15     (3) provide a database that indicates the incidence and 
  4.16  prevalence of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. 
  4.17     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.664, 
  4.18  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  4.19     Subd. 5.  [RULES.] The commissioner shall adopt rules to 
  4.20  administer the registry, collect information, and distribute 
  4.21  data, and administer the spinal cord injury research board.  The 
  4.22  rules must include, but are not limited to, the following:  
  4.23     (1) the specific ICD-9 procedure codes included in the 
  4.24  definitions of "traumatic brain injury" and "spinal cord 
  4.25  injury"; 
  4.26     (2) the type of data to be reported; 
  4.27     (3) standards for reporting specific types of data; 
  4.28     (4) the persons and facilities required to report and the 
  4.29  time period in which reports must be submitted; 
  4.30     (5) criteria relating to the use of registry data by public 
  4.31  and private entities engaged in research; and 
  4.32     (6) specification of fees to be charged under section 
  4.33  13.03, subdivision 3, for out-of-pocket expenses.  
  4.34     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 171.06, 
  4.35  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.36     Subd. 2.  [FEES.] (a) The fees for a license and Minnesota 
  5.1   identification card are as follows: 
  5.2   Classified Driver's License  D-$18.50 C-$22.50 B-$29.50 A-$37.50
  5.3   Classified Under-21 D.L.     D-$18.50 C-$22.50 B-$29.50 A-$17.50
  5.4   Instruction Permit                                        $ 9.50
  5.5   Provisional License                                       $ 9.50
  5.6   Duplicate License or
  5.7    duplicate identification card                            $ 8.00
  5.8   Minnesota identification card or Under-21 Minnesota
  5.9   identification card, other than duplicate,
  5.10  except as otherwise provided in section 171.07,
  5.11  subdivisions 3 and 3a                                     $12.50
  5.12     (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a person who holds a 
  5.13  provisional license and has a driving record free of (1) 
  5.14  convictions for a violation of section 169A.20, 169A.33, 
  5.15  169A.35, or sections 169A.50 to 169A.53, (2) convictions for 
  5.16  crash-related moving violations, and (3) convictions for moving 
  5.17  violations that are not crash related, shall have a $3.50 credit 
  5.18  toward the fee for any classified under-21 driver's license.  
  5.19  "Moving violation" has the meaning given it in section 171.04, 
  5.20  subdivision 1. 
  5.21     (c) All applications for an instruction permit, provisional 
  5.22  license, and driver's license must contain a provision that 
  5.23  allows the applicant to add to the fee under paragraph (a) a $1 
  5.24  donation for spinal cord injury research.  The commissioner 
  5.25  shall deposit all amounts donated under this paragraph in the 
  5.26  spinal cord injury research trust account established under 
  5.27  section 144.6616.  The commissioner shall utilize all existing 
  5.28  supplies of application forms before implementing this 
  5.29  paragraph.  In addition to the driver's license fee required 
  5.30  under paragraph (a), the registrar shall collect an additional 
  5.31  $4 processing fee from each new applicant or person renewing a 
  5.32  license with a school bus endorsement to cover the costs for 
  5.33  processing an applicant's initial and biennial physical 
  5.34  examination certificate.  The department shall not charge these 
  5.35  applicants any other fee to receive or renew the endorsement. 
  5.36     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  6.1   171.29, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  6.2      Subd. 2.  [REINSTATEMENT FEES AND SURCHARGES, ALLOCATION.] 
  6.3   (a) A person whose driver's license has been revoked as provided 
  6.4   in subdivision 1, except under section 169A.52, 169A.54, or 
  6.5   609.21, shall pay a $30 fee before the driver's license is 
  6.6   reinstated. 
  6.7      (b) A person whose driver's license has been revoked as 
  6.8   provided in subdivision 1 under section 169A.52, 169A.54, or 
  6.9   609.21, shall pay a $250 fee plus a $40 surcharge before the 
  6.10  driver's license is reinstated.  Beginning July 1, 2002, the 
  6.11  surcharge is $145 $160.  Beginning July 1, 2003, the surcharge 
  6.12  is $380 $395.  The $250 fee is to be credited as follows: 
  6.13     (1) Twenty percent must be credited to the trunk highway 
  6.14  fund. 
  6.15     (2) Fifty-five percent must be credited to the general fund.
  6.16     (3) Eight percent must be credited to a separate account to 
  6.17  be known as the bureau of criminal apprehension account.  Money 
  6.18  in this account may be appropriated to the commissioner of 
  6.19  public safety and the appropriated amount must be apportioned 80 
  6.20  percent for laboratory costs and 20 percent for carrying out the 
  6.21  provisions of section 299C.065. 
  6.22     (4) Twelve percent must be credited to a separate account 
  6.23  to be known as the alcohol-impaired driver education account.  
  6.24  Money in the account is appropriated as follows: 
  6.25     (i) in fiscal year 2002: 
  6.26     (A) the first $200,000 to the commissioner of children, 
  6.27  families, and learning for programs for elementary and secondary 
  6.28  school students; and 
  6.29     (B) the remainder credited to the commissioner of public 
  6.30  safety to be spent as grants through March 31, 2002, to the 
  6.31  Minnesota highway safety center at St. Cloud State University 
  6.32  for programs relating to alcohol and highway safety education in 
  6.33  elementary and secondary schools and then from April 1, 2002, 
  6.34  through June 30, 2002, for programs described in item (ii); and 
  6.35     (ii) after June 30, 2002, to the commissioner of public 
  6.36  safety for grants for programs relating to alcohol and highway 
  7.1   safety education in elementary and secondary schools. 
  7.2      (5) Five percent must be credited to a separate account to 
  7.3   be known as the traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury 
  7.4   account.  The money in the account is annually appropriated to 
  7.5   the commissioner of health to be used as follows:  35 percent 
  7.6   for a contract with a qualified community-based organization to 
  7.7   provide information, resources, and support to assist persons 
  7.8   with traumatic brain injury and their families to access 
  7.9   services, and 65 percent to maintain the traumatic brain injury 
  7.10  and spinal cord injury registry created in section 144.662.  For 
  7.11  the purposes of this clause, a "qualified community-based 
  7.12  organization" is a private, not-for-profit organization of 
  7.13  consumers of traumatic brain injury services and their family 
  7.14  members.  The organization must be registered with the United 
  7.15  States Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3) as a 
  7.16  tax-exempt organization and must have as its purposes:  
  7.17     (i) the promotion of public, family, survivor, and 
  7.18  professional awareness of the incidence and consequences of 
  7.19  traumatic brain injury; 
  7.20     (ii) the provision of a network of support for persons with 
  7.21  traumatic brain injury, their families, and friends; 
  7.22     (iii) the development and support of programs and services 
  7.23  to prevent traumatic brain injury; 
  7.24     (iv) the establishment of education programs for persons 
  7.25  with traumatic brain injury; and 
  7.26     (v) the empowerment of persons with traumatic brain injury 
  7.27  through participation in its governance. 
  7.28  No patient's name, identifying information or identifiable 
  7.29  medical data will be disclosed to the organization without the 
  7.30  informed voluntary written consent of the patient or patient's 
  7.31  guardian, or if the patient is a minor, of the parent or 
  7.32  guardian of the patient. 
  7.33     (c) The surcharge must be credited as follows: 
  7.34     (i) the revenue from the first $15 of the surcharge must be 
  7.35  credited to the spinal cord injury research trust account 
  7.36  established under section 144.6616; and 
  8.1      (ii) the remainder of the surcharge must be credited to a 
  8.2   separate account to be known as the remote electronic alcohol 
  8.3   monitoring program account.  The commissioner shall transfer the 
  8.4   balance of this account to the commissioner of finance on a 
  8.5   monthly basis for deposit in the general fund. 
  8.6      (d) When these fees are collected by a licensing agent, 
  8.7   appointed under section 171.061, a handling charge is imposed in 
  8.8   the amount specified under section 171.061, subdivision 4.  The 
  8.9   reinstatement fees and surcharge must be deposited in an 
  8.10  approved state depository as directed under section 171.061, 
  8.11  subdivision 4.