1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to motor vehicles; providing for impoundment 
  1.3             of license plates when a vehicle lacking insurance is 
  1.4             involved in an accident; imposing misdemeanor 
  1.5             penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 168. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [168.045] [PLATE IMPOUNDMENT FOR FAILURE TO 
  1.9   MAINTAIN INSURANCE.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [VIOLATION; ISSUANCE OF IMPOUNDMENT 
  1.11  ORDER.] (a) The commissioner shall issue a registration plate 
  1.12  impoundment order when the commissioner receives a notification 
  1.13  from a peace officer that a person has been involved in a motor 
  1.14  vehicle accident and has failed to produce on demand of the 
  1.15  officer proof of insurance in force at the time of the demand. 
  1.16     (b) The order shall require the impoundment of the 
  1.17  registration plates of the self-propelled motor vehicle for 
  1.18  which proof of insurance was not produced.  An impoundment order 
  1.19  shall not be issued for the registration plates of a rental 
  1.20  vehicle as defined in section 168.041, subdivision 10, or a 
  1.21  vehicle registered in another state. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE OF IMPOUNDMENT.] An impoundment order is 
  1.23  effective when the commissioner or a peace officer acting on 
  1.24  behalf of the commissioner notifies the violator or the 
  1.25  registered owner of the self-propelled motor vehicle of the 
  1.26  intent to impound and order of impoundment.  The notice must 
  2.1   advise the violator of the duties and obligations set forth in 
  2.2   subdivision 6 and of the right to obtain administrative and 
  2.3   judicial review.  If mailed, the notice and order of impoundment 
  2.4   is deemed received three days after mailing to the last known 
  2.5   address of the violator or the registered owner. 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [IMPOUNDMENT ORDER.] A peace officer who, in the 
  2.7   process of investigating an accident, determines that the 
  2.8   operator of a vehicle involved in the accident or violation has 
  2.9   failed to produce proof of insurance in force for the vehicle in 
  2.10  violation of section 169.791, shall on behalf of the 
  2.11  commissioner of public safety issue to the operator of the 
  2.12  vehicle an intent to impound and an order of impoundment.  If 
  2.13  the vehicle involved in the failure to produce proof of 
  2.14  insurance is accessible to the officer at the time the 
  2.15  impoundment order is issued, the officer shall seize the 
  2.16  registration plates subject to the impoundment order.  The 
  2.17  officer shall destroy all plates seized or impounded under this 
  2.18  section.  The officer shall send to the commissioner copies of 
  2.19  the notice of intent to impound and the order of impoundment and 
  2.20  a notice that registration plates impounded and seized under 
  2.21  this section have been destroyed. 
  2.22     Subd. 4.  [TEMPORARY PERMIT.] If the motor vehicle is 
  2.23  registered to the violator, the officer shall issue a temporary 
  2.24  vehicle permit that is valid for seven days when the officer 
  2.25  issues the notices under subdivision 3.  If the motor vehicle is 
  2.26  registered in the name of another, the officer shall issue a 
  2.27  temporary vehicle permit that is valid for 45 days when the 
  2.28  notices are issued under subdivision 2.  The permit must be in a 
  2.29  form determined by the registrar and whenever practicable must 
  2.30  be posted on the left side of the inside rear window of the 
  2.31  vehicle.  A permit is valid only for the vehicle for which it is 
  2.32  issued. 
  2.33     Subd. 5.  [VEHICLES SUBJECT TO IMPOUNDMENT ORDERS.] Within 
  2.34  seven days after issuance of the impoundment notice, a person 
  2.35  who receives a notice of impoundment and impoundment order shall 
  2.36  surrender all registration plates subject to the impoundment 
  3.1   order that were not seized by a peace officer under subdivision 
  3.2   3.  Registration plates required to be surrendered under this 
  3.3   subdivision must be surrendered to a Minnesota police 
  3.4   department, sheriff, or the state patrol, along with a copy of 
  3.5   the impoundment order.  A law enforcement agency receiving 
  3.6   registration plates under this subdivision shall destroy the 
  3.7   plates and notify the commissioner that they have been 
  3.8   destroyed.  The notification to the commissioner shall also 
  3.9   include a copy of the impoundment order. 
  3.10     Subd. 6.  [VEHICLE NOT OWNED BY VIOLATOR.] A violator may 
  3.11  file a sworn statement with the commissioner within seven days 
  3.12  of the issuance of an impoundment order stating any material 
  3.13  information relating to the impoundment order, including that 
  3.14  the vehicle has been sold or destroyed and supplying the date, 
  3.15  name, location, and address of the person or entity that 
  3.16  purchased or destroyed the vehicle.  The commissioner shall 
  3.17  rescind the impoundment order if the violator shows that the 
  3.18  impoundment order was not properly issued. 
  3.19     Subd. 7.  [ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.] (a) At any time during 
  3.20  the effective period of an impoundment order, a person may 
  3.21  request in writing a review of the impoundment order by the 
  3.22  commissioner.  On receiving a request, the commissioner or the 
  3.23  commissioner's designee shall review the order, the evidence 
  3.24  upon which the order was based, and any other material 
  3.25  information brought to the attention of the commissioner, and 
  3.26  determine whether sufficient cause exists to sustain the order.  
  3.27  The commissioner shall report in writing the results of the 
  3.28  review within 15 days of receiving the request.  The review 
  3.29  provided in this subdivision is not subject to the contested 
  3.30  case provisions of the administrative procedure act in chapter 
  3.31  14.  As a result of this review, the commissioner may authorize 
  3.32  the issuance at no cost of new registration plates to the 
  3.33  registered owner of the vehicle if the registered owner's 
  3.34  license or driving privileges were not revoked as a result of 
  3.35  the violation. 
  3.36     (b) Review under this subdivision shall take place, if 
  4.1   possible, at the same time as an administrative review of the 
  4.2   person's license revocation under section 169.792, subdivision 7.
  4.3      Subd. 8.  [PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.] (a) Within 30 
  4.4   days following receipt of a notice and order of impoundment 
  4.5   under this section, a person may petition the court for review.  
  4.6   The petition must include the petitioner's date of birth, 
  4.7   driver's license number, and date of the violation.  The 
  4.8   petition shall state with specificity the grounds upon which the 
  4.9   petitioner seeks rescission of the order for impoundment.  The 
  4.10  petition may be combined with a petition filed for review of a 
  4.11  revocation of a driver's license for a violation of section 
  4.12  169.791. 
  4.13     (b) The judicial review and hearing must take place at the 
  4.14  same time as a judicial review of the person's license 
  4.15  revocation under section 169.791, if a petition for such a 
  4.16  review has been filed.  The filing of the petition under this 
  4.17  subdivision does not stay the impoundment order.  The reviewing 
  4.18  court may order a stay of the balance of the impoundment period 
  4.19  if the hearing has not been conducted within 60 days after 
  4.20  filing of the petition upon terms the court deems proper.  The 
  4.21  court shall order either that the impoundment be rescinded or 
  4.22  sustained, and forward the order to the commissioner of public 
  4.23  safety.  The court shall file its order within 14 days following 
  4.24  the hearing. 
  4.25     Subd. 9.  [RESCISSION OF REVOCATION; DISMISSAL OF CHARGES 
  4.26  OR ACQUITTAL; ISSUANCE OF NEW PLATES.] If: 
  4.27     (1) the driver's license revocation resulting from the 
  4.28  violation of section 169.791 that gave rise to the vehicle 
  4.29  registration revocation is rescinded; 
  4.30     (2) the charges for the violation have been dismissed with 
  4.31  prejudice; or 
  4.32     (3) the violator has been acquitted of the violation; 
  4.33  then the registrar of motor vehicles shall issue new 
  4.34  registration plates for the vehicle at no cost, when the 
  4.35  registrar receives an application that includes a copy of the 
  4.36  order rescinding the driver's license revocation, the order 
  5.1   dismissing the charges, or the judgment of acquittal. 
  5.2      Subd. 10.  [REGISTRATION PLATES REINSTATEMENT CHARGE.] When 
  5.3   the registrar of motor vehicles reinstates a person's 
  5.4   registration plates after impoundment for reasons other than 
  5.5   those described in subdivision 9, the registrar shall charge the 
  5.6   person $25.  Money raised under this subdivision must be paid 
  5.7   into the state treasury and credited to the highway user tax 
  5.8   distribution fund. 
  5.9      Subd. 11.  [SALE OF VEHICLE SUBJECT TO IMPOUNDMENT 
  5.10  ORDER.] A registered owner may not sell a motor vehicle during 
  5.11  the time its registration plates have been ordered impounded 
  5.12  under this section, unless: 
  5.13     (1) the sale is for a valid consideration; 
  5.14     (2) the transferee does not reside in the same household as 
  5.15  the registered owner; and 
  5.16     (3) all elements of section 168A.10 are satisfied. 
  5.17     The registrar may then transfer the title to the new owner 
  5.18  upon proper application and issue new registration plates. 
  5.19     Subd. 12.  [REGISTRATION; PROOF OF INSURANCE.] If during 
  5.20  the effective period of the plate impoundment the violator 
  5.21  applies to the commissioner for registration plates for any 
  5.22  vehicle, the commissioner shall issue registration plates only 
  5.23  if the violator files with the commissioner of public safety a 
  5.24  written certificate of an insurance carrier authorized to do 
  5.25  business in the state stating that security has been provided as 
  5.26  required by sections 65B.41 to 65B.71 and covers all vehicles 
  5.27  the violator seeks to register.  The commissioner may require 
  5.28  the certificate of insurance to be certified by the insurance 
  5.29  carrier to be noncancelable for at least one year. 
  5.30     Subd. 13.  [MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES.] A person is guilty of a 
  5.31  misdemeanor who: 
  5.32     (1) fails to comply with an impoundment order under this 
  5.33  section; 
  5.34     (2) files a false statement under subdivision 6; 
  5.35     (3) operates a self-propelled motor vehicle on a street or 
  5.36  highway when the vehicle is subject to an impoundment order 
  6.1   issued under this section; or 
  6.2      (4) fails to notify the commissioner of the impoundment 
  6.3   order when requesting new plates. 
  6.4      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.5      Section 1 is effective August 1, 1998, for violations 
  6.6   committed on and after that date.