1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; authorizing a third-party testing program for driver's 
1.3 	license knowledge, road, and skills tests;amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, 
1.4 	section 171.13, subdivision 1.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 171.13, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Examination subjects and locations; provisions for color blindness, 
1.8 	disabled veterans. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the commissioner shall 
1.9 	examine each applicant for a driver's license by such agency as the commissioner directs. 
1.10 	This examination must include:
1.11 	(1) a test of the applicant's eyesight, provided that this requirement is met by submission 
1.12 	of a vision examination certificate under section 171.06, subdivision 7;
1.13 	(2) a test of the applicant's ability to read and understand highway signs regulating, 
1.14 	warning, and directing traffic;
1.15 	(3) a test of the applicant's knowledge of (i) traffic laws; (ii) the effects of alcohol and 
1.16 	drugs on a driver's ability to operate a motor vehicle safely and legally, and of the legal 
1.17 	penalties and financial consequences resulting from violations of laws prohibiting the 
1.18 	operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; (iii) railroad 
1.19 	grade crossing safety; (iv) slow-moving vehicle safety; (v) laws relating to pupil 
1.20 	transportation safety, including the significance of school bus lights, signals, stop arm, and 
1.21 	passing a school bus; (vi) traffic laws related to bicycles; and (vii) the circumstances and 
1.22 	dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning;
2.1 	(4) an actual demonstration of ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the 
2.2 	operation of a motor vehicle; and
2.3 	(5) other physical and mental examinations as the commissioner finds necessary to 
2.4 	determine the applicant's fitness to operate a motor vehicle safely upon the highways.
2.5 	(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner must not deny an application for 
2.6 	a driver's license based on the exclusive grounds that the applicant's eyesight is deficient in 
2.7 	color perception or that the applicant has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. War veterans 
2.8 	operating motor vehicles especially equipped for disabled persons, if otherwise entitled to 
2.9 	a license, must be granted such license.
2.10 	(c) The commissioner shall make provision for giving the examinations under this 
2.11 	subdivision either in the county where the applicant resides or at a place adjacent thereto 
2.12 	reasonably convenient to the applicant.
2.13 	(d) The commissioner shall ensure that an applicant is able to obtain an appointment for 
2.14 	an examination to demonstrate ability under paragraph (a), clause (4), within 14 days of the 
2.15 	applicant's request if, under the applicable statutes and rules of the commissioner, the 
2.16 	applicant is eligible to take the examination.
2.17 	(e) The commissioner shall authorize any deputy registrar appointed pursuant to section 
2.18 	168.33 to create a third-party testing program and authorize the appointment of third-party 
2.19 	testers to administer any knowledge, road, or skills tests as required under this section and 
2.20 	as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 7410.4100, subpart 11. A deputy registrar may establish 
2.21 	and collect fees for any knowledge test, or combination thereof, not to exceed $5 and for 
2.22 	the road or skills tests not to exceed $30.