1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; motor vehicles; 
  1.3             establishing system for the notification, recording, 
  1.4             and collection of delinquent fines for traffic and 
  1.5             parking violations; prohibiting registration of 
  1.6             vehicle of owner who has not paid the fine for a 
  1.7             traffic or parking violation; prohibiting issuance of 
  1.8             warrants for parking violations; providing for 
  1.9             redesigned license plates to be issued in 1998 for 
  1.10            passenger automobiles; imposing a fee; appropriating 
  1.11            money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 
  1.12            168.12, subdivision 1, and by adding a subdivision; 
  1.13            169.91, subdivision 3; 169.95; and 169.99, subdivision 
  1.14            1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.15            chapters 168; and 169. 
  1.16  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.17     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.12, 
  1.18  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [NUMBER PLATES; DESIGN, VISIBILITY, PERIODS 
  1.20  OF ISSUANCE.] The registrar, upon the approval and payment, 
  1.21  shall issue to the applicant the number plates required by law, 
  1.22  bearing the state name and the number assigned.  The number 
  1.23  assigned may be a combination of a letter or sign with figures.  
  1.24  The color of the plates and the color of the abbreviation of the 
  1.25  state name and the number assigned shall be in marked contrast.  
  1.26  The plates shall be lettered, spaced, or distinguished to 
  1.27  suitably indicate the registration of the vehicle according to 
  1.28  the rules of the registrar, and when a vehicle is registered on 
  1.29  the basis of total gross weight, the plates issued shall clearly 
  1.30  indicate by letters or other suitable insignia the maximum gross 
  2.1   weight for which the tax has been paid.  These number plates 
  2.2   shall be so treated as to be at least 100 times brighter than 
  2.3   the conventional painted number plates.  When properly mounted 
  2.4   on an unlighted vehicle, these number plates, when viewed from a 
  2.5   vehicle equipped with standard headlights, shall be visible for 
  2.6   a distance of not less than 1,500 feet and readable for a 
  2.7   distance of not less than 110 feet.  The registrar shall issue 
  2.8   these number plates for the following periods: 
  2.9      (1) New number plates issued pursuant to section 168.012, 
  2.10  subdivision 1, shall be issued to a vehicle for as long as it is 
  2.11  owned by the exempt agency and shall not be transferable from 
  2.12  one vehicle to another but may be transferred with the vehicle 
  2.13  from one tax exempt agency to another.  
  2.14     (2) Plates issued for passenger automobiles as defined in 
  2.15  section 168.011, subdivision 7, shall be issued for a seven-year 
  2.16  five-year period.  All plates issued under this paragraph must 
  2.17  be replaced if they are seven years old or older at the time of 
  2.18  annual registration or will become so during the registration 
  2.19  period. 
  2.20     (3) Number plates issued under sections 168.053 and 168.27, 
  2.21  subdivisions 16 and 17, shall be for a seven-year five-year 
  2.22  period. 
  2.23     (4) Plates for any vehicle not specified in clauses (1) to 
  2.24  (3), except for trailers as hereafter provided, shall be issued 
  2.25  for the life of the vehicle.  Beginning with number plates 
  2.26  issued for the year 1981, plates issued for trailers with a 
  2.27  total gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less shall be issued for 
  2.28  the life of the trailer and shall be not more than seven inches 
  2.29  in length and four inches in width. 
  2.30     In a year in which plates are not issued, the registrar 
  2.31  shall issue for each registration a tab or sticker to designate 
  2.32  the year of registration.  This tab or sticker shall show the 
  2.33  calendar year or years for which issued, and is valid only for 
  2.34  that period.  The number plates, number tabs, or stickers issued 
  2.35  for a motor vehicle may not be transferred to another motor 
  2.36  vehicle during the period for which it is issued, except a motor 
  3.1   vehicle registered under section 168.187. 
  3.2      Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, 
  3.3   number plates issued to a vehicle which is used for 
  3.4   behind-the-wheel instruction in a driver education course in a 
  3.5   public school may be transferred to another vehicle used for the 
  3.6   same purpose without payment of any additional fee.  The 
  3.7   registrar shall be notified of each transfer of number plates 
  3.8   under this paragraph and may prescribe a form for notification. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 168.12, is 
  3.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.11     Subd. 1a.  [NEW, UNIFORM DESIGN.] For calendar year 1998, 
  3.12  and at each five-year interval thereafter, the commissioner of 
  3.13  public safety shall issue new license plates to all passenger 
  3.14  automobiles, after which the plates must be issued pursuant to 
  3.15  subdivision 1.  The commissioner shall redesign these new plates 
  3.16  to ensure that the plates are easily distinguishable from 
  3.17  previous plates, and that all plates issued, including special 
  3.18  license plates, are as uniform as practicable for the placement, 
  3.19  design, and size of figures, emblems, and symbols.  The new 
  3.20  design for 1998 shall commemorate Minnesota and the turn of the 
  3.21  century. 
  3.22     Sec. 3.  [168.135] [RENEWAL APPLICATIONS; DELINQUENT 
  3.23  TRAFFIC FINES.] 
  3.24     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION; NOTICE.] When a person 
  3.25  applies to renew the registration for a motor vehicle, applies 
  3.26  for duplicate, special, or personalized license plates, or 
  3.27  applies for a change of classification, the registrar or deputy 
  3.28  registrar shall check the computerized records system 
  3.29  established under subdivision 2 to determine whether the 
  3.30  applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor or petty 
  3.31  misdemeanor related to the operation of a motor vehicle, or 
  3.32  charged with a violation of a law or ordinance regulating the 
  3.33  parking of vehicles, involving the vehicle to be registered and 
  3.34  for which the records collected under section 169.95 or 
  3.35  information reported under subdivision 4 indicate a delinquent 
  3.36  fine.  If a delinquent fine is indicated, the registrar or 
  4.1   deputy registrar shall notify the applicant as to the court to 
  4.2   which payment of the fine is due and the amount of each fine. 
  4.3      Subd. 2.  [COMPUTERIZED RECORDS SYSTEM; ACCESS.] (a) The 
  4.4   registrar shall install, administer, and maintain in the 
  4.5   department of public safety an efficient, computerized database 
  4.6   records system dedicated solely as the repository for reports of 
  4.7   delinquent misdemeanor, petty misdemeanor, and parking fines, as 
  4.8   set forth in subdivision 1. 
  4.9      (b) The system must be designed to allow each court to 
  4.10  report and update by electronic communication directly with the 
  4.11  system's computer database those delinquent fines that remain 
  4.12  owing to the court.  The system must be designed to allow access 
  4.13  by a deputy registrar to the system upon transmittal of the 
  4.14  access code of the deputy registrar, as assigned by the 
  4.15  registrar. 
  4.16     (c) On complying with these specifications, providing the 
  4.17  requisite database-accessing equipment and programming, and 
  4.18  providing the specified interconnection equipment, the registrar 
  4.19  shall allow each deputy registrar direct computer inquiry of 
  4.20  these records.  The system must allow electronic and toll-free 
  4.21  telephonic access by deputy registrars as necessary to perform 
  4.22  their vehicle registration responsibilities under subdivision 
  4.23  3.  The registrar shall not assess a deputy registrar 
  4.24  transaction or user costs, fees, or charges for inquiries 
  4.25  required or necessary to discharge the duties of a deputy 
  4.26  registrar under this section. 
  4.27     (d) Access must include the records required by this 
  4.28  section and exclude only those records restricted by governing 
  4.29  state or federal data privacy laws. 
  4.30     Subd. 3.  [DEPUTY REGISTRARS' RESPONSIBILITIES.] (a) On 
  4.31  receiving an application described in subdivision 1, the 
  4.32  registrar or a deputy registrar shall access the computerized 
  4.33  records system to discover if the applicant has a delinquent 
  4.34  fine.  On gaining access to the system, the deputy registrar 
  4.35  shall identify and communicate the license plate number for 
  4.36  which the information is requested. 
  5.1      (b) Neither the registrar nor a deputy registrar may 
  5.2   receive or process an application described in subdivision 1 if 
  5.3   the response from the records system indicates that there is a 
  5.4   delinquent fine arising from a violation of a misdemeanor, petty 
  5.5   misdemeanor, or law or ordinance regulating the parking of 
  5.6   vehicles and involving the vehicle for which the license plate 
  5.7   was issued.  A deputy registrar may rely conclusively upon the 
  5.8   response of the records system to the inquiry. 
  5.9      (c) When a delinquent fine has been paid or otherwise 
  5.10  disposed of to the court's satisfaction, the court shall: 
  5.11     (1) issue the violator a receipt of payment or statement 
  5.12  certifying that the delinquent fine has been paid or otherwise 
  5.13  disposed of to the court's satisfaction; and 
  5.14     (2) update its listing of outstanding delinquent fines to 
  5.15  be recorded in the records system established in subdivision 2. 
  5.16     (d) An applicant may register the vehicle after paying or 
  5.17  otherwise satisfactorily disposing of all delinquent fines as 
  5.18  follows: 
  5.19     (1) by reapplying after paying the outstanding fines to the 
  5.20  appropriate courts and after each court's files of delinquent 
  5.21  fines have been recorded and updated in the computerized records 
  5.22  system; 
  5.23     (2) by presenting court receipts or statements certifying 
  5.24  that all delinquent fines have been paid or otherwise disposed 
  5.25  of to the satisfaction of all applicable courts; or 
  5.26     (3) by paying all outstanding delinquent parking fines, as 
  5.27  recorded in the computerized records system established in 
  5.28  subdivision 2, by satisfactory payment to the deputy registrar, 
  5.29  but only if the particular deputy registrar elects to provide 
  5.30  this service.  A deputy registrar electing to accept payments 
  5.31  for fines under this clause shall transmit all payments to the 
  5.32  applicable courts without delay. 
  5.33     (e) A deputy registrar may rely conclusively upon the 
  5.34  receipts or certified statements issued under paragraph (d), 
  5.35  clause (2), and purporting to be that of the court named in the 
  5.36  receipt or statement that the fines owed to that court have been 
  6.1   paid or otherwise satisfied. 
  6.2      Subd. 4.  [NOTICE AND REPORT BY COURT.] At least 15 days 
  6.3   before any information on delinquent fines is transmitted to the 
  6.4   department's computerized records system, the court shall notify 
  6.5   by mail to the last known address of the registered owner of the 
  6.6   motor vehicle involved in the traffic violation:  of the nature 
  6.7   of the violation, the amount of the fine, where the fine should 
  6.8   be paid, and the resulting consequences concerning vehicle 
  6.9   registration renewal if the fine is not paid.  If the fine is 
  6.10  not paid or otherwise disposed of to the satisfaction of the 
  6.11  court or if a court appearance has not been scheduled, the court 
  6.12  shall transmit the information to the department's computerized 
  6.13  records system.  The court may impose costs and assess penalties 
  6.14  to the defendant to recover any expense incurred by the court in 
  6.15  administering the notice and reporting requirements of this 
  6.16  section.  The costs and penalties are payable to the court.  
  6.17  Between August 1, 1997, and January 1, 1998, the court shall 
  6.18  transmit information to the department's computerized records 
  6.19  system regarding all delinquent fines in existence prior to the 
  6.20  effective date of this subdivision. 
  6.21     Sec. 4.  [168.331] [TRAFFIC VIOLATION SURCHARGE; 
  6.22  APPROPRIATION.] 
  6.23     Subdivision 1.  [SURCHARGE ON TRAFFIC AND PARKING 
  6.24  VIOLATIONS.] An additional fee of $1 is imposed on all 
  6.25  convictions of violations of chapter 169 and other misdemeanor 
  6.26  and petty misdemeanor offenses involving as an element of the 
  6.27  offense the use of a motor vehicle, and all violations of laws 
  6.28  and ordinances regulating the parking of motor vehicles.  
  6.29  Courts, violation bureaus, or other entities that collect fines 
  6.30  for these offenses or violations shall transmit monthly the 
  6.31  proceeds of the fee to the registrar.  The registrar shall 
  6.32  deposit the proceeds in the general fund. 
  6.33     Subd. 2.  [APPROPRIATION TO REIMBURSE DEPUTY 
  6.34  REGISTRARS.] Of the proceeds collected under subdivision 1, a 
  6.35  sum sufficient is annually appropriated to the commissioner of 
  6.36  public safety to reimburse nongovernmental deputy registrars for 
  7.1   their actual, documented telephone transaction costs, mailing 
  7.2   costs, and other expenses necessarily incurred to comply with 
  7.3   their duties required under section 168.135. 
  7.4      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.91, 
  7.5   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  7.6      Subd. 3.  [NOTICE TO APPEAR.] When a citation is issued for 
  7.7   a parking violation or when a person is arrested for any 
  7.8   violation of any law or ordinance relating to motor vehicles, 
  7.9   their registration or their operation, or the use of the 
  7.10  highways, the issuing or arresting officer shall prepare a 
  7.11  written notice to appear in court.  This place must be before a 
  7.12  judge within the county in which the offense charged is alleged 
  7.13  to have been committed who has jurisdiction and is nearest or 
  7.14  most accessible with reference to the place of arrest or parking 
  7.15  violation.  If the offense is a petty misdemeanor, the notice to 
  7.16  appear must include a statement that a failure to appear will be 
  7.17  considered a plea of guilty and waiver of the right to trial, 
  7.18  unless the failure to appear is due to circumstances beyond the 
  7.19  person's control.  A notice to appear must also be mailed to the 
  7.20  registered owner of the vehicle. 
  7.21     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.95, is 
  7.22  amended to read: 
  7.23     169.95 [COURTS TO KEEP SEPARATE COURT RECORDS AND REPORTS 
  7.24  OF VIOLATIONS AND DELINQUENT FINES.] 
  7.25     Subdivision 1.  [RECORDS.] Every court administrator shall 
  7.26  keep a full record of every case in which a person is charged 
  7.27  with a violation of any law or ordinance, regulating the 
  7.28  operation or parking of vehicles on highways. 
  7.29     Subd. 2.  [REPORTS OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS.] Within ten days 
  7.30  after the conviction or forfeiture of bail of a person upon a 
  7.31  charge of violating any provisions of any law or ordinance, 
  7.32  regulating the operation of vehicles on highways, except for 
  7.33  parking violations, the court administrator of the court in 
  7.34  which the conviction was had or bail was forfeited, shall 
  7.35  immediately forward to the department of public safety an 
  7.36  abstract of the record of the court covering the case in which 
  8.1   the person was convicted or forfeited bail.  The abstract must 
  8.2   be certified by the person required to prepare it to be true and 
  8.3   correct. 
  8.4      The abstract must be made upon a form furnished by the 
  8.5   department of public safety, and shall include the name and 
  8.6   address of the party charged, the driver's license number of the 
  8.7   person involved, the nature of the offense, the date of hearing, 
  8.8   the plea, the judgment, or whether bail was forfeited, and the 
  8.9   amount of the fine or forfeiture, as the case may be. 
  8.10     Every court shall also forward a report to the department 
  8.11  of public safety reporting the conviction of any person of 
  8.12  manslaughter or other felony in the commission of which a 
  8.13  vehicle was used. 
  8.14     Subd. 3.  [REPORTS OF DELINQUENT FINES.] Every court 
  8.15  administrator shall report delinquent fines imposed for parking 
  8.16  violations and convictions of traffic offenses to the department 
  8.17  of public safety's computerized records system established under 
  8.18  section 168.135.  The court administrator shall report within 30 
  8.19  days after the date that the payment of a fine is due.  The 
  8.20  report must be made to the commissioner of public safety as 
  8.21  prescribed in section 168.135 and must contain the following 
  8.22  information: 
  8.23     (1) the license plate number of the motor vehicle involved 
  8.24  in the violation; 
  8.25     (2) the number of delinquent fines; 
  8.26     (3) the amount of the fine for each citation or conviction; 
  8.27  and 
  8.28     (4) for a parking violation, the date the parking citation 
  8.29  was issued. 
  8.30     Subd. 4.  [JUDICIAL COMPLIANCE.] The failure, refusal, or 
  8.31  neglect of any judicial officer to comply with any of the 
  8.32  requirements of this section shall constitute misconduct in the 
  8.33  office and shall be grounds for removal. 
  8.34     Sec. 7.  [169.987] [PARKING VIOLATION WARRANTS PROHIBITED.] 
  8.35     A court shall not issue a warrant for the arrest of a 
  8.36  person for delinquent parking citations for vehicles registered 
  9.1   in Minnesota. 
  9.2      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 169.99, 
  9.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  9.4      Subdivision 1.  [FORM.] (a) Except as provided in 
  9.5   subdivision 3, there shall be a uniform ticket issued throughout 
  9.6   the state by the police and peace officers or by any other 
  9.7   person for violations of this chapter and ordinances in 
  9.8   conformity thereto.  Such uniform traffic ticket shall be in the 
  9.9   form and have the effect of a summons and complaint.  Except as 
  9.10  provided in paragraph paragraphs (b) and (c), the uniform ticket 
  9.11  shall state that if the defendant fails to appear in court in 
  9.12  response to the ticket, an arrest warrant may be issued.  The 
  9.13  uniform traffic ticket shall consist of four parts, on paper 
  9.14  sensitized so that copies may be made without the use of carbon 
  9.15  paper, as follows: 
  9.16     (1) the complaint, with reverse side for officer's notes 
  9.17  for testifying in court, driver's past record, and court's 
  9.18  action, printed on white paper; 
  9.19     (2) the abstract of court record for the department of 
  9.20  public safety, which shall be a copy of the complaint with the 
  9.21  certificate of conviction on the reverse side, printed on yellow 
  9.22  paper; 
  9.23     (3) the police record, which shall be a copy of the 
  9.24  complaint and of the reverse side of copy (1), printed on pink 
  9.25  paper; 
  9.26     (4) the summons, with, on the reverse side, such 
  9.27  information as the court may wish to give concerning the traffic 
  9.28  violations bureau, and a plea of guilty and waiver, printed on 
  9.29  off-white tag stock.  
  9.30     (b) If the offense is a petty misdemeanor, the uniform 
  9.31  ticket must state that a failure to appear will be considered a 
  9.32  plea of guilty and waiver of the right to trial, unless the 
  9.33  failure to appear is due to circumstances beyond the person's 
  9.34  control. 
  9.35     (c) The copy of the uniform traffic ticket provided to the 
  9.36  violator must include a notice specifying the consequences 
 10.1   regarding vehicle registration that may result if the violator 
 10.2   fails to respond to the citation or, if convicted of a traffic 
 10.3   offense, if the violator fails to pay any fine imposed. 
 10.4      Sec. 9.  [REPORT.] 
 10.5      The commissioner of public safety, the commissioner of 
 10.6   administration, and the chief justice of the supreme court, or 
 10.7   designees thereof, shall submit a joint report to the 
 10.8   legislature by January 1, 1997, making recommendations related 
 10.9   to sections 2 to 7 of this act.  The report shall make 
 10.10  recommendations regarding: 
 10.11     (1) equipment, training, and necessary personnel; 
 10.12     (2) system design, interconnection, programming, and the 
 10.13  most efficient means of information exchange; 
 10.14     (3) uniform ticket identification methodology for all 
 10.15  system users; 
 10.16     (4) most effective means of inputting district court 
 10.17  information into the system; 
 10.18     (5) any additional or amendatory legislation appropriate to 
 10.19  fully implement the system or improve thereon; and 
 10.20     (6) required appropriations. 
 10.21     Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
 10.22     $35,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
 10.23  supreme court for the purposes of section 9.  This appropriation 
 10.24  is available until spent. 
 10.25     Sec. 11.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 10.26     Section 3, subdivision 1, is effective January 1, 1997. 
 10.27  Section 3, subdivision 2, is effective July 1, 1997.  Sections 
 10.28  2, subdivisions 1, 2, and 4; and 5, subdivision 3, are effective 
 10.29  August 1, 1997.  Sections 2, subdivision 3; 4; 5, subdivisions 1 
 10.30  and 2; 6; and 7, are effective January 1, 1998.