1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to drivers' licenses; extending duration of 
  1.3             instruction permits to two years; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2002, section 171.05, subdivisions 1, 2.  
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 171.05, 
  1.7   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [PERSON 18 OR MORE YEARS OF AGE.] Any 
  1.9   person who is 18 or more years of age and who, except for a lack 
  1.10  of instruction in operating a motor vehicle, would otherwise be 
  1.11  qualified to obtain a class D driver's license under this 
  1.12  chapter, may apply for an instruction permit and the department 
  1.13  shall issue such permit entitling the applicant, while having 
  1.14  such permit in immediate possession, to drive a motor vehicle 
  1.15  for which a class D license is valid upon the highways for a 
  1.16  period of one year two years, but such person must be 
  1.17  accompanied by an adult licensed driver who is actually 
  1.18  occupying a seat beside the driver.  Any license of a lower 
  1.19  class may be used as an instruction permit for a higher class 
  1.20  for a period of six months after passage of the written test or 
  1.21  tests required for the higher class and when the licensee is 
  1.22  accompanied by and receiving instruction from a holder of the 
  1.23  appropriate higher class license.  A copy of the record of 
  1.24  examination taken for the higher class license must be carried 
  1.25  by the driver while using such lower class license as an 
  2.1   instruction permit.  
  2.2      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 171.05, 
  2.3   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [PERSON LESS THAN 18 YEARS OF AGE.] (a) 
  2.5   Notwithstanding any provision in subdivision 1 to the contrary, 
  2.6   the department may issue an instruction permit to an applicant 
  2.7   who is 15, 16, or 17 years of age and who: 
  2.8      (1) has completed a course of driver education in another 
  2.9   state, has a previously issued valid license from another state, 
  2.10  or is enrolled in either: 
  2.11     (i) a public, private, or commercial driver education 
  2.12  program that is approved by the commissioner of public safety 
  2.13  and that includes classroom and behind-the-wheel training; or 
  2.14     (ii) an approved behind-the-wheel driver education program 
  2.15  when the student is receiving full-time instruction in a home 
  2.16  school within the meaning of sections 120A.22 and 120A.24, the 
  2.17  student is working toward a home-school diploma, the student's 
  2.18  status as a home-school student has been certified by the 
  2.19  superintendent of the school district in which the student 
  2.20  resides, and the student is taking home-classroom driver 
  2.21  training with classroom materials approved by the commissioner 
  2.22  of public safety; 
  2.23     (2) has completed the classroom phase of instruction in the 
  2.24  driver education program; 
  2.25     (3) has passed a test of the applicant's eyesight; 
  2.26     (4) has passed a department-administered test of the 
  2.27  applicant's knowledge of traffic laws; 
  2.28     (5) has completed the required application, which must be 
  2.29  approved by (i) either parent when both reside in the same 
  2.30  household as the minor applicant or, if otherwise, then (ii) the 
  2.31  parent or spouse of the parent having custody or, in the event 
  2.32  there is no court order for custody, then (iii) the parent or 
  2.33  spouse of the parent with whom the minor is living or, if items 
  2.34  (i) to (iii) do not apply, then (iv) the guardian having custody 
  2.35  of the minor or, in the event a person under the age of 18 has 
  2.36  no living father, mother, or guardian, or is married or 
  3.1   otherwise legally emancipated, then (v) the applicant's adult 
  3.2   spouse, adult close family member, or adult employer; provided, 
  3.3   that the approval required by this clause contains a 
  3.4   verification of the age of the applicant and the identity of the 
  3.5   parent, guardian, adult spouse, adult close family member, or 
  3.6   adult employer; and 
  3.7      (6) has paid the fee required in section 171.06, 
  3.8   subdivision 2. 
  3.9      (b) The instruction permit is valid for one year two years 
  3.10  from the date of application and may be renewed upon payment of 
  3.11  a fee equal to the fee for issuance of an instruction permit 
  3.12  under section 171.06, subdivision 2.