1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public safety; providing that a peace 
  1.3             officer may operate any vehicle or combination of 
  1.4             vehicles; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.5             171.02, subdivision 2. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 171.02, 
  1.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 2.  [DRIVER'S LICENSE CLASSIFICATIONS, ENDORSEMENTS, 
  1.10  EXEMPTIONS.] (a) Drivers' licenses shall be classified according 
  1.11  to the types of vehicles which may be driven by the holder of 
  1.12  each type or class of license.  The commissioner may, as 
  1.13  appropriate, subdivide the classes listed in this subdivision 
  1.14  and issue licenses classified accordingly.  Except as provided 
  1.15  in subdivision 2a, no class of license shall be valid to operate 
  1.16  a motorcycle, school bus, tank vehicle, double-trailer or 
  1.17  triple-trailer combination, vehicle transporting hazardous 
  1.18  materials, or bus, unless so endorsed. 
  1.19  There shall be four general classes of licenses as follows: 
  1.20     (b) Class D; valid for: 
  1.21     (1) operating all farm trucks operated by (i) the owner, 
  1.22  (ii) an immediate family member of the owner, (iii) an employee 
  1.23  of the owner not primarily employed to operate the farm truck, 
  1.24  within 150 miles of the farm, or (iv) an employee of the owner 
  1.25  employed during harvest to operate the farm truck for the first, 
  2.1   continuous transportation of agricultural products from the 
  2.2   production site or on-farm storage site to any other location 
  2.3   within 50 miles of that site; 
  2.4      (2) operating fire trucks and emergency fire equipment, 
  2.5   whether or not in excess of 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, 
  2.6   operated by a firefighter while on duty, or a tiller operator 
  2.7   employed by a fire department who drives the rear portion of a 
  2.8   midmount aerial ladder truck; 
  2.9      (3) operating recreational equipment as defined in section 
  2.10  168.011, subdivision 25, that is operated for personal use; 
  2.11     (4) operating all single-unit vehicles except vehicles with 
  2.12  a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds, vehicles 
  2.13  designed to carry more than 15 passengers including the driver, 
  2.14  and vehicles that carry hazardous materials; and 
  2.15     (5) notwithstanding paragraph (c), operating a type A 
  2.16  school bus without a school bus endorsement if: 
  2.17     (i) the bus has a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or 
  2.18  less; 
  2.19     (ii) the bus is designed to transport 15 or fewer 
  2.20  passengers, including the driver; and 
  2.21     (iii) the requirements of subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), 
  2.22  are satisfied, as determined by the commissioner. 
  2.23  The holder of a class D license may also tow vehicles if the 
  2.24  combination of vehicles has a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 
  2.25  pounds or less; and 
  2.26     (6) operation of any vehicle or combination of vehicles by 
  2.27  a licensed peace officer while on duty. 
  2.28     (c) Class C; valid for:  
  2.29     (1) operating class D vehicles; 
  2.30     (2) with a hazardous materials endorsement, transporting 
  2.31  hazardous materials in class D vehicles; and 
  2.32     (3) with a school bus endorsement, operating school buses 
  2.33  designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers, including the 
  2.34  driver. 
  2.35     (d) Class B; valid for operating all vehicles in class C, 
  2.36  class D, and all other single-unit vehicles including, with a 
  3.1   passenger endorsement, buses.  The holder of a class B license 
  3.2   may tow only vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 
  3.3   pounds or less. 
  3.4      (e) Class A; valid for operating any vehicle or combination 
  3.5   of vehicles. 
  3.6      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  3.7   following final enactment.