1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to government data; authorizing certain 
  1.3             accident data to be made public; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2000, section 169.09, subdivision 13. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 169.09, 
  1.7   subdivision 13, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 13.  [REPORTS CONFIDENTIAL; EVIDENCE, FEE, PENALTY, 
  1.9   APPROPRIATION.] (a) All written reports and supplemental reports 
  1.10  required under this section shall be for the use of the 
  1.11  commissioner of public safety and other appropriate state, 
  1.12  federal, county, and municipal governmental agencies for 
  1.13  accident analysis purposes, except: 
  1.14     (1) the commissioner of public safety or any law 
  1.15  enforcement agency shall, upon written request of any person 
  1.16  involved in an accident or upon written request of the 
  1.17  representative of the person's estate, surviving spouse, or one 
  1.18  or more surviving next of kin, or a trustee appointed pursuant 
  1.19  to section 573.02, disclose to the requester, the requester's 
  1.20  legal counsel, or a representative of the requester's insurer 
  1.21  the report required under subdivision 8; 
  1.22     (2) the commissioner of public safety shall, upon written 
  1.23  request, provide the driver filing a report under subdivision 7 
  1.24  with a copy of the report filed by the driver; 
  1.25     (3) the commissioner of public safety may verify with 
  2.1   insurance companies vehicle insurance information to enforce 
  2.2   sections 65B.48, 169.792, 169.793, 169.796, and 169.797; 
  2.3      (4) the commissioner of public safety shall provide the 
  2.4   commissioner of transportation the information obtained for each 
  2.5   traffic accident involving a commercial motor vehicle, for 
  2.6   purposes of administering commercial vehicle safety regulations; 
  2.7   and 
  2.8      (5) the commissioner of public safety may give to the 
  2.9   United States Department of Transportation commercial vehicle 
  2.10  accident information in connection with federal grant programs 
  2.11  relating to safety. 
  2.12     (b) Accident reports and data contained in the reports 
  2.13  shall not be discoverable under any provision of law or rule of 
  2.14  court.  No report shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil 
  2.15  or criminal, arising out of an accident, except that the 
  2.16  commissioner of public safety shall furnish upon the demand of 
  2.17  any person who has, or claims to have, made a report, or, upon 
  2.18  demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified 
  2.19  accident report has or has not been made to the commissioner 
  2.20  solely to prove compliance or failure to comply with the 
  2.21  requirements that the report be made to the commissioner. 
  2.22     (c) Nothing in this subdivision prevents any person who has 
  2.23  made a report pursuant to this section from providing 
  2.24  information to any persons involved in an accident or their 
  2.25  representatives or from testifying in any trial, civil or 
  2.26  criminal, arising out of an accident, as to facts within the 
  2.27  person's knowledge.  It is intended by this subdivision to 
  2.28  render privileged the reports required, but it is not intended 
  2.29  to prohibit proof of the facts to which the reports relate. 
  2.30     (d) Disclosing any information contained in any accident 
  2.31  report, except as provided in this subdivision, section 13.82, 
  2.32  subdivision 3 or 4, or other statutes, is a misdemeanor. 
  2.33     (e) The commissioner of public safety may charge authorized 
  2.34  persons a $5 fee for a copy of an accident report.  The 
  2.35  commissioner shall also furnish copies of the modified accident 
  2.36  records database to private agencies as provided in paragraph 
  3.1   (g), for not less than the cost of preparing the copies on a 
  3.2   bulk basis.  
  3.3      (f) The commissioner and law enforcement agencies may 
  3.4   charge commercial users who request access to response or 
  3.5   incident data relating to accidents a fee not to exceed 50 cents 
  3.6   per report.  "Commercial user" is a user who in one location 
  3.7   requests access to data in more than five accident reports per 
  3.8   month, unless the user establishes that access is not for a 
  3.9   commercial purpose.  Money collected by the commissioner under 
  3.10  this paragraph is appropriated to the commissioner. 
  3.11     (g) The commissioner shall provide a modified copy of the 
  3.12  accident records database that does not contain names, driver's 
  3.13  license numbers, vehicle license plate numbers, addresses, or 
  3.14  other identifying data to the public upon request.  However, 
  3.15  unless the accident records data base includes the motor vehicle 
  3.16  information number, the commissioner shall include the vehicle 
  3.17  license plate number if a private agency certifies that the 
  3.18  agency: 
  3.19     (1) is in the business of collecting accident and damage 
  3.20  information on vehicles; and 
  3.21     (2) uses the vehicle license plate number only for the 
  3.22  purpose of identifying vehicles that have been involved in 
  3.23  accidents or damaged and not for the purpose of identifying 
  3.24  individuals.