2001 Minnesota Statutes

     299C.37 Police communication equipment; use, sale. 

    Subdivision 1.    Use regulated.  (a) No person other 
 than peace officers within the state, the members of the state 
 patrol, and persons who hold an amateur radio license issued by 
 the Federal Communications Commission, shall equip any motor 
 vehicle with any radio equipment or combination of equipment, 
 capable of receiving any radio signal, message, or information 
 from any police emergency frequency, or install, use, or possess 
 the equipment in a motor vehicle without permission from the 
 superintendent of the bureau upon a form prescribed by the 
 superintendent.  An amateur radio license holder is not entitled 
 to exercise the privilege granted by this paragraph if the 
 license holder has been convicted in this state or elsewhere of 
 a crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 
 5, unless ten years have elapsed since the person has been 
 restored to civil rights or the sentence has expired, whichever 
 occurs first, and during that time the person has not been 
 convicted of any other crime of violence.  For purposes of this 
 section, "crime of violence" includes a crime in another state 
 or jurisdiction that would have been a crime of violence if it 
 had been committed in this state.  Radio equipment installed, 
 used, or possessed as permitted by this paragraph must be under 
 the direct control of the license holder whenever it is used. 

    (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), any person who is 
 convicted of a violation of this subdivision shall, upon 
 conviction for the first offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
 and for the second and subsequent offenses shall be guilty of a 
 gross misdemeanor. 

    (c) An amateur radio license holder who exercises the 
 privilege granted by paragraph (a) shall carry the amateur radio 
 license in the motor vehicle at all times and shall present the 
 license to a peace officer on request.  A violation of this 
 paragraph is a petty misdemeanor.  A second or subsequent 
 violation is a misdemeanor. 

    Subd. 2.  Repealed, 1971 c 71 s 2 

    Subd. 3.    Permit.  The superintendent of the bureau 
 shall, upon written application, issue a written permit, which 
 shall be nontransferable, to a person, firm, or corporation 
 showing good cause to use radio equipment capable of receiving a 
 police emergency frequency, as a necessity, in the lawful 
 pursuit of a business, trade, or occupation. 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1983 c 293 s 115 

    HIST: (9950-48) 1935 c 195 s 8; 1961 c 661 s 1; 1965 c 721 s 
 1; 1981 c 37 s 2; 1983 c 293 s 91; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 191 s 1