1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; modifying provisions 
  1.3             relating to school buses and drivers; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 169.01, subdivision 
  1.5             6; 169.03, subdivision 6; and 171.3215, subdivisions 2 
  1.6             and 4. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.01, 
  1.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 6.  [SCHOOL BUS.] "School bus" means a motor vehicle 
  1.11  used to transport pupils to or from a school defined in section 
  1.12  120A.22, or to or from school-related activities, by the school 
  1.13  or a school district, or by someone under an agreement with the 
  1.14  school or a school district.  A school bus does not include a 
  1.15  motor vehicle transporting children to or from school for which 
  1.16  parents or guardians receive direct compensation from a school 
  1.17  district, a motor coach operating under charter carrier 
  1.18  authority, a transit bus providing services as defined in 
  1.19  section 174.22, subdivision 7, or a vehicle otherwise qualifying 
  1.20  as a type III vehicle under paragraph (5), when the vehicle is 
  1.21  properly registered and insured and being driven by an employee 
  1.22  or agent of a school district for nonscheduled transportation.  
  1.23  A school bus may be type A, type B, type C, or type D, or type 
  1.24  III as follows:  
  1.25     (1) A "type A school bus" is a conversion or body 
  1.26  constructed upon a van-type or cutaway front section vehicle 
  2.1   with a left-side driver's door, designed for carrying more than 
  2.2   ten persons.  This definition includes two classifications:  
  2.3   type A-I, with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 
  2.4   pounds; and type A-II, with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. 
  2.5      (2) A "type B school bus" is a conversion or body 
  2.6   constructed and installed upon a van or front-section vehicle 
  2.7   chassis, or stripped chassis, with a gross vehicle weight rating 
  2.8   of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  2.9   persons.  Part of the engine is beneath or behind the windshield 
  2.10  and beside the driver's seat.  The entrance door is behind the 
  2.11  front wheels. 
  2.12     (3) A "type C school bus" is a body installed upon a flat 
  2.13  back cowl chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
  2.14  than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than ten 
  2.15  persons.  All of the engine is in front of the windshield and 
  2.16  the entrance door is behind the front wheels.  A type C school 
  2.17  bus has a maximum length of 45 feet.  
  2.18     (4) A "type D school bus" is a body installed upon a 
  2.19  chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, midship or rear, 
  2.20  with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, 
  2.21  designed for carrying more than ten persons.  The engine may be 
  2.22  behind the windshield and beside the driver's seat; it may be at 
  2.23  the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels, or midship between 
  2.24  the front and rear axles.  The entrance door is ahead of the 
  2.25  front wheels.  A type D school bus has a maximum length of 45 
  2.26  feet.  
  2.27     (5) Type III school buses and type III Head Start buses are 
  2.28  restricted to passenger cars, station wagons, vans, and buses in 
  2.29  service after January 1, 1999, having an original a maximum 
  2.30  manufacturer's rated seating capacity of ten or fewer people, 
  2.31  including the driver, and a gross vehicle weight rating of 
  2.32  10,000 pounds or less.  In this subdivision, "gross vehicle 
  2.33  weight rating" means the value specified by the manufacturer as 
  2.34  the loaded weight of a single vehicle.  A "type III school bus" 
  2.35  and "type III Head Start bus" must not be outwardly equipped and 
  2.36  identified as a type A, B, C, or D school bus or type A, B, C, 
  3.1   or D Head Start bus.  A van or bus converted to a seating 
  3.2   capacity of ten or fewer and placed in service on or after 
  3.3   August 1, 1999, must have been originally manufactured to comply 
  3.4   with the passenger safety standards. 
  3.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.03, 
  3.6   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.7      Subd. 6.  [WORKING ON HIGHWAY.] (a) The provisions of this 
  3.8   chapter shall not apply to persons, motor vehicles, and other 
  3.9   equipment while actually engaged in work upon the highway, 
  3.10  except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c).  
  3.11     (b) This chapter shall apply to those persons and vehicles 
  3.12  when traveling to or from such work, except that persons 
  3.13  operating equipment owned, rented or hired by road authorities 
  3.14  shall be exempt from the width, height and length provisions of 
  3.15  sections 169.80 and 169.81 and shall be exempt from the weight 
  3.16  limitations of this chapter while engaged in snow or ice removal 
  3.17  and while engaged in flood control operations on behalf of the 
  3.18  state or a local governmental unit. 
  3.19     (c) Sections 169.121 to 169.129 and 169.444 apply to 
  3.20  persons while actually engaged in work upon the highway. 
  3.21     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 171.3215, 
  3.22  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 2.  [CANCELLATION FOR DISQUALIFYING AND OTHER 
  3.24  OFFENSES.] Within ten days of receiving notice under section 
  3.25  631.40, subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice for a 
  3.26  nonresident driver, that a school bus driver has been convicted 
  3.27  of a disqualifying offense, the commissioner shall permanently 
  3.28  cancel the school bus driver's endorsement on the offender's 
  3.29  driver's license and in the case of a nonresident, the driver's 
  3.30  privilege to operate a school bus in Minnesota.  A school bus 
  3.31  driver whose endorsement or privilege to operate a school bus in 
  3.32  Minnesota has been permanently canceled may not apply for 
  3.33  reinstatement.  Within ten days of receiving notice under 
  3.34  section 631.40, subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice 
  3.35  for a nonresident driver, that a school bus driver has been 
  3.36  convicted of a gross misdemeanor, or a violation of section 
  4.1   169.121, 169.129, or a similar statute or ordinance from another 
  4.2   state, and within ten days of revoking a school bus driver's 
  4.3   license under section 169.123, the commissioner shall cancel the 
  4.4   school bus driver's endorsement on the offender's driver's 
  4.5   license or the nonresident's privilege to operate a school bus 
  4.6   in Minnesota for five years.  After five years, a school bus 
  4.7   driver may apply to the commissioner for reinstatement.  Even 
  4.8   after five years, cancellation of a school bus driver's 
  4.9   endorsement or a nonresident's privilege to operate a school bus 
  4.10  in Minnesota for a violation under section 169.121, 169.123, 
  4.11  169.129, or a similar statute or ordinance from another state, 
  4.12  shall remain in effect until the driver provides proof of 
  4.13  successful completion of an alcohol or controlled substance 
  4.14  treatment program.  For a first offense, proof of completion is 
  4.15  required only if treatment was ordered as part of a chemical use 
  4.16  assessment.  Within ten days of receiving notice under section 
  4.17  631.40, subdivision 1a, or otherwise receiving notice for a 
  4.18  nonresident driver, that a school bus driver has been convicted 
  4.19  of a fourth moving violation in the last three years, the 
  4.20  commissioner shall cancel the school bus driver's endorsement on 
  4.21  the offender's driver's license or the nonresident's privilege 
  4.22  to operate a school bus in Minnesota until one year has elapsed 
  4.23  since the last conviction.  A school bus driver who has no new 
  4.24  convictions after one year may apply for reinstatement.  Upon 
  4.25  canceling the offender's school bus driver's endorsement, the 
  4.26  commissioner shall immediately notify the licensed offender of 
  4.27  the cancellation in writing, by depositing in the United States 
  4.28  post office a notice addressed to the licensed offender at the 
  4.29  licensed offender's last known address, with postage prepaid 
  4.30  thereon. 
  4.31     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 171.3215, 
  4.32  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.33     Subd. 4.  [WAIVER OF PERMANENT CANCELLATION.] (a) The 
  4.34  commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee, in 
  4.35  consultation with the division of driver and vehicle services, 
  4.36  may waive the permanent cancellation requirement of this section 
  5.1   171.3215 for a person convicted of a misdemeanor, a gross 
  5.2   misdemeanor, a nonfelony violation of chapter 152, or a felony 
  5.3   that is not a violent crime under section 609.1095.  
  5.4      (b) After notice to the requesting school district and 
  5.5   contract provider of school bus transportation, the commissioner 
  5.6   may waive the permanent cancellation requirement after ten years 
  5.7   have elapsed since the person was convicted of a violation of 
  5.8   section 609.582, subdivision 2, 3, or 4.