1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime; expanding a peace officer's 
  1.3             authority to make certain traffic-related arrests; 
  1.4             providing that an owner or lessee of a motor vehicle 
  1.5             is guilty of a petty misdemeanor if the vehicle is 
  1.6             used to commit certain traffic-related offenses; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.21, 
  1.8             subdivision 1, and by adding subdivisions; Minnesota 
  1.9             Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 169.21, subdivision 
  1.10            2. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.21, 
  1.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [OBEY TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNALS.] Pedestrians 
  1.15  shall be subject to traffic-control signals at intersections as 
  1.16  heretofore declared in this chapter, but at all other places 
  1.17  pedestrians shall be accorded the privileges and shall be 
  1.18  subject to the restrictions stated in this section and 
  1.19  section and 169.22. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.21  169.21, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [RIGHTS IN ABSENCE OF SIGNALS.] (a) Where 
  1.23  traffic-control signals are not in place or in operation, the 
  1.24  driver of a vehicle shall stop to yield the right-of-way to a 
  1.25  pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or 
  1.26  within any crosswalk at an intersection but no pedestrian shall 
  1.27  suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run 
  1.28  into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is 
  2.1   impossible for the driver to yield.  This provision shall not 
  2.2   apply under the conditions as otherwise provided in this 
  2.3   subdivision. 
  2.4      (b) When any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at 
  2.5   any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian 
  2.6   to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle 
  2.7   approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the 
  2.8   stopped vehicle. 
  2.9      (c) It is unlawful for any person to drive a motor vehicle 
  2.10  through a column of school children crossing a street or highway 
  2.11  or past a member of a school safety patrol or adult crossing 
  2.12  guard, while the member of the school safety patrol or adult 
  2.13  crossing guard is directing the movement of children across a 
  2.14  street or highway and while the school safety patrol member or 
  2.15  adult crossing guard is holding an official signal in the stop 
  2.16  position.  A peace officer may arrest the driver of a motor 
  2.17  vehicle if the peace officer has probable cause to believe that 
  2.18  the driver has operated the vehicle in violation of this 
  2.19  paragraph within the past four hours.  
  2.20     (d) A person who violates this subdivision is guilty of a 
  2.21  misdemeanor and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more 
  2.22  than 90 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $700, or 
  2.23  both.  A person who violates this subdivision a second or 
  2.24  subsequent time within one year of a previous conviction under 
  2.25  this subdivision is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and may be 
  2.26  sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to 
  2.27  payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both. 
  2.28     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.21, is 
  2.29  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.30     Subd. 2a.  [VIOLATION; PENALTY FOR OWNERS AND LESSEES.] (a) 
  2.31  When a motor vehicle is operated in violation of subdivision 2 
  2.32  by someone other than the owner of the vehicle, or if the 
  2.33  vehicle is leased, by someone other than the lessee of the 
  2.34  vehicle, the owner or lessee is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.  
  2.35     (b) The owner or lessee may not be convicted for violating 
  2.36  this subdivision if: 
  3.1      (1) another person has been convicted for the violation 
  3.2   under subdivision 2; or 
  3.3      (2) the vehicle was stolen at the time of the violation. 
  3.4      (c) This subdivision does not apply to a lessor of a motor 
  3.5   vehicle if the lessor keeps a record of the name and address of 
  3.6   the lessee. 
  3.7      (d) This subdivision does not bar the prosecution of the 
  3.8   motor vehicle's operator for violating subdivision 2. 
  3.9      (e) A violation of this subdivision does not constitute 
  3.10  grounds for revocation or suspension of the owner's or lessee's 
  3.11  driver's license. 
  3.12     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 169.21, is 
  3.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.14     Subd. 2b.  [CAUSE FOR ARREST.] A peace officer may arrest 
  3.15  the driver of a motor vehicle if the peace officer has probable 
  3.16  cause to believe that the driver has operated the vehicle in 
  3.17  violation of subdivision 2 within the past four hours. 
  3.18     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.19     Sections 2 to 4 are effective August 1, 1998, and apply to 
  3.20  offenses committed on or after that date.