1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; authorizing statutory 
  1.3             cities, home rule charter cities, and urban towns to 
  1.4             develop and implement programs for peace officers to 
  1.5             detect and cite traffic signal violations by use of 
  1.6             photographic evidence; providing penalties; amending 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 169.06, by adding a 
  1.8             subdivision; and 171.12, subdivision 6; proposing 
  1.9             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 169.06, is 
  1.12  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 5b.  [SIGNAL VIOLATION CITED USING PHOTOGRAPHIC 
  1.14  EVIDENCE.] (a) Notwithstanding section 169.89, subdivision 1, if 
  1.15  a motor vehicle is operated in violation of subdivision 4 and 
  1.16  the violation is detected through use of photographic evidence, 
  1.17  the owner of the vehicle or, for a leased motor vehicle, the 
  1.18  lessee of the vehicle, is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.  
  1.19  Notwithstanding any other law, a peace officer may issue a 
  1.20  citation to the owner or lessee of the vehicle through United 
  1.21  States mail. 
  1.22     (b) This subdivision does not apply to (1) an owner who 
  1.23  presents written evidence that the motor vehicle had been 
  1.24  reported to a law enforcement agency as stolen at the time of 
  1.25  the violation, or (2) a lessor of a motor vehicle if the lessor 
  1.26  keeps a record of the name and address of the lessee. 
  1.27     (c) This subdivision does not prohibit or limit the 
  2.1   prosecution of a motor vehicle operator for violating 
  2.2   subdivision 4. 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  [169.062] [SIGNAL VIOLATION DETECTED WITH 
  2.4   PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE.] 
  2.5      Subdivision 1.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.] (a) A 
  2.6   statutory or home rule charter city or urban town, as defined in 
  2.7   chapter 368, may by ordinance develop and implement a program to 
  2.8   allow peace officers to detect violations of section 169.06, 
  2.9   subdivision 4, through photographic evidence, as provided in 
  2.10  section 169.06, subdivision 5b.  A program established under 
  2.11  this section must: 
  2.12     (1) be limited to enforcement of traffic signals only; 
  2.13     (2) issue citations for traffic signal violations through 
  2.14  United States mail only; 
  2.15     (3) operate photographic systems in such a manner that the 
  2.16  violating vehicle is identified by the photograph but the 
  2.17  occupants of the vehicle are not; 
  2.18     (4) provide that all records of convictions resulting from 
  2.19  violations detected through the use of photographic systems 
  2.20  contain a notation to that effect; and 
  2.21     (5) require signage notifying drivers that photographic 
  2.22  systems are in place to detect traffic signal violations. 
  2.23     (b) The city or town shall consult with the department of 
  2.24  public safety in establishing the program.  
  2.25     Any contract with a private person for operation of a 
  2.26  program under this section must not include a provision that 
  2.27  provides for a payment to the private person based on the number 
  2.28  of citations issued. 
  2.29     Subd. 2.  [FINES.] A city or town participating in the 
  2.30  program may by ordinance establish a schedule of fines for 
  2.31  violations detected by photographic equipment. 
  2.32     Subd. 3.  [DATA.] Photographic evidence and records of 
  2.33  convictions obtained under this section are private data on 
  2.34  individuals or nonpublic data as defined in section 13.02 but 
  2.35  are accessible to the owner or lessee of the vehicle. 
  2.36     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 171.12, 
  3.1   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.2      Subd. 6.  [CERTAIN CONVICTIONS NOT RECORDED.] (a) The 
  3.3   department shall not keep on the record of a driver any 
  3.4   conviction for a violation of section 169.14, subdivision 2, 
  3.5   paragraph (a), clause (3), unless the violation consisted of a 
  3.6   speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess of the lawful 
  3.7   speed. 
  3.8      (b) The department shall not keep on the record of a driver 
  3.9   a conviction for failure to obey traffic signals if the record 
  3.10  of conviction indicates that the conviction was obtained through 
  3.11  the use of photographic evidence. 
  3.12     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.13     Sections 1 to 3 are effective August 1, 2001.