2001 Minnesota Statutes

     168.345 Use of vehicle registration information. 

    Subdivision 1.    Information by telephone.  Information 
 concerning motor vehicle registrations shall not be furnished on 
 the telephone to any person except the personnel of law 
 enforcement agencies and the personnel of governmental motor 
 vehicle and registration offices. 

    Subd. 2.    Lessees; information.  The registrar may not 
 furnish information concerning registered owners of passenger 
 automobiles who are lessees under a lease for a term of 180 days 
 or more to any person except the personnel of law enforcement 
 agencies and federal, state, and local governmental units, and, 
 at the registrar's discretion, to persons who use the 
 information to notify lessees of automobile recalls.  The 
 registrar may release information about lessees in the form of 
 summary data, as defined in section 13.02, to persons who use 
 the information in conducting statistical analysis and market 
 research. 

    Subd. 3.    Requests for information; surcharge on fee.  
 Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 4, the commissioner 
 shall impose a surcharge of 50 cents on each fee charged by the 
 commissioner under section 13.03, subdivision 3, for copies or 
 electronic transmittal of public information concerning motor 
 vehicle registrations.  This surcharge only applies to a fee 
 imposed in responding to a request made in person or by mail, or 
 to a request for transmittal through a computer modem.  The 
 surcharge does not apply to the request of an individual for 
 information concerning vehicles registered in that individual's 
 name.  The commissioner shall forward the surcharges collected 
 under this subdivision to the commissioner of finance on a 
 monthly basis.  Upon receipt, the commissioner of finance shall 
 credit the surcharges to the general fund. 

    Subd. 4.    Exception to fee and surcharge.  (a) 
 Notwithstanding subdivision 3 or section 13.03, no fee or 
 surcharge shall be imposed in responding to a request for public 
 information concerning motor vehicle registrations if the 
 requester gives the commissioner a signed statement that: 

    (1) the requester seeks the information on behalf of a 
 community-based, nonprofit organization which has been 
 designated by the local law enforcement agency to be a 
 requester; and 

    (2) the information is needed in order to identify 
 suspected prostitution law violators, controlled substance law 
 violators, or health code violators. 

    (b) The commissioner may not require a requester to make a 
 certain minimum number of data requests nor limit a requester to 
 a certain maximum number of data requests. 

    HIST: 1965 c 901 s 68; 1989 c 178 s 1; 1993 c 266 s 17; 1993 c 
 326 art 11 s 2,4; 1996 c 328 s 1,2; 1996 c 440 art 1 s 40,41; 
 1997 c 250 s 4