1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; authorizing 
  1.3             commissioner of public safety to conduct pilot program 
  1.4             using photographic evidence for enforcement of traffic 
  1.5             signal laws; appropriating money; providing penalties; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 169.06, by 
  1.7             adding a subdivision; and 171.12, subdivision 6. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.06, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 5b.  [SIGNAL VIOLATION CITED USING PHOTOGRAPHIC 
  1.12  EVIDENCE.] (a) If a motor vehicle is operated in violation of 
  1.13  subdivision 4 and the violation is cited as part of a pilot 
  1.14  program administered by the commissioner of public safety under 
  1.15  section 3, the owner of the vehicle or, for a leased motor 
  1.16  vehicle, the lessee of the vehicle, is guilty of a petty 
  1.17  misdemeanor.  
  1.18     (b) This subdivision does not apply to (1) an owner who 
  1.19  presents written evidence that the motor vehicle had been 
  1.20  reported to a law enforcement agency as stolen at the time of 
  1.21  the violation or (2) a lessor of a motor vehicle if the lessor 
  1.22  keeps a record of the name and address of the lessee.  
  1.23     (c) This subdivision does not prohibit or limit the 
  1.24  prosecution of a motor vehicle operator for violating 
  1.25  subdivision 4. 
  1.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 171.12, 
  2.1   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subd. 6.  [CERTAIN CONVICTIONS NOT RECORDED.] (a) The 
  2.3   department shall not keep on the record of a driver any 
  2.4   conviction for a violation of section 169.14, subdivision 2, 
  2.5   paragraph (a), clause (3), unless the violation consisted of a 
  2.6   speed greater than ten miles per hour in excess of the lawful 
  2.7   speed.  
  2.8      (b) The department shall not keep on the record of a driver 
  2.9   a conviction for failure to obey traffic signals if the record 
  2.10  of conviction indicates that the conviction was obtained through 
  2.11  the use of photographic evidence under a pilot program 
  2.12  administered by the commissioner of transportation. 
  2.13     Sec. 3.  [PILOT PROGRAM.] 
  2.14     Subdivision 1.  [COMMISSIONER TO ESTABLISH PROGRAM.] The 
  2.15  commissioner of public safety shall establish a pilot program to 
  2.16  test the feasibility and desirability of using photographic 
  2.17  evidence as a basis for issuing citations for failure to obey 
  2.18  traffic signals. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [GRANTS.] (a) The commissioner shall make grants 
  2.20  to the city of Minneapolis and up to two additional statutory or 
  2.21  home rule charter cities the commissioner selects from among 
  2.22  applicants for the grants.  The grants must be for the purpose 
  2.23  of planning and implementing a system of enforcing traffic 
  2.24  signals through the use of photographic evidence of violations 
  2.25  using automated equipment not operated by a peace officer.  
  2.26     (b) To be eligible for grants under this section, a 
  2.27  proposed program must: 
  2.28     (1) be limited to enforcement of traffic signals only; 
  2.29     (2) issue citations for traffic signal violations through 
  2.30  the mail only; 
  2.31     (3) operate photographic systems in such a manner that the 
  2.32  violating vehicle is identified by the photograph but the 
  2.33  occupants of the vehicle are not; and 
  2.34     (4) provide that all records of convictions resulting from 
  2.35  violations detected through the use of photographic systems 
  2.36  contain a notation to that effect. 
  3.1      (c) The commissioner shall adopt standards for the design, 
  3.2   specifications, and operation of photographic equipment operated 
  3.3   by a city as part of the pilot program. 
  3.4      Subd. 3.  [EFFECTS OF CITATION.] The provisions of 
  3.5   Minnesota Statutes, sections 169.90 to 169.95, that apply to 
  3.6   arrests, citations, and convictions also apply to citations 
  3.7   written for a violation detected by photographic equipment 
  3.8   operated with a grant under this section, except those that by 
  3.9   their terms can have no application. 
  3.10     Subd. 4.  [REPORT.] The commissioner shall report to the 
  3.11  legislature by February 1, 2002, on the results of the pilot 
  3.12  program. 
  3.13     Subd. 5.  [FINE SCHEDULE.] A city participating in the 
  3.14  pilot program may by ordinance establish a schedule of fines for 
  3.15  violations detected by photographic equipment under the pilot 
  3.16  program. 
  3.17     Subd. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] $....... is appropriated from 
  3.18  the general fund to the commissioner of public safety for the 
  3.19  purposes of this section.  This appropriation is available until 
  3.20  spent. 
  3.21     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.22     Sections 1 to 3 are effective August 1, 2000, and apply to 
  3.23  offenses committed on or after that date.