S.F. No. 3806, as amended, is the transportation omnibus bill. This bill includes provisions from Senate File Nos. 1092, 1989, 2363, 2484, 2547, 2642, 2751, 2752, 2775, 2869, 2977, 2996, 2997, 2998, 2999, 3090, 3118, 3209, 3250, 3405, 3418, 3466, 3581, 3660, 3734, 3806, and 3836.

Sec. 1. Certain transit financial activity reporting. Changes the frequency of the legislative auditor's review of the Metropolitan Council’s transportation financial records from quarterly to two times per year. Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 2. Metropolitan area transit account.  Makes a conforming change.  Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 3.  Unfair practices by manufacturers, distributors, factory branches.  It is unlawful for a motor vehicle manufacturer, distributor, or factory branch to charge back or withhold or deny payment against a motor vehicle dealer due to a delay in the transfer or registration of a new motor vehicle due to an unreasonable delay by the registrar. Establishes a deadline and a process for a dealer to notify a manufacturer that delay is attributable to the state.  This section expires June 30, 2021.

Sec. 4.  Program authority; funding.  Requires at least 49 percent of corridors of commerce funding to be spent on projects inside the metropolitan area and 49 percent outside of the metropolitan area.

Sec. 5.  Route No. 180.   Modifies the route of Highway 54 in Grant County, which allows part of the road to be turned back to the county.

Sec. 6.  Officer Bill Mathews Memorial Highway.  Designates U.S. Highway 12 in Wayzata as “Officer Bill Mathews Memorial Highway.”

Sec. 7.  Trooper Ray Krueger Memorial Highway.  Designates Trunk Highway 210 in Cass County as “Trooper Krueger Memorial Highway.”

Sec. 8.  Trooper Dale G. Roehrich Memorial Highway.  Designates U.S. Highway 61 from Lake City to Wabasha as “Trooper Dale G. Roehrich Memorial Highway.”

Sec. 9.  Direct negotiation.  Raises the limit on direct negotiations for trunk highway projects from $150,000 to $250,000.

Sec. 10.  Indian employment preference.  Authorizes the commissioner of transportation to implement an Indian employment preference for projects on or near an Indian reservation.

Sec. 11.  Passenger automobile; hearse.  For first registrations of a new vehicle sold by a dealer, the dealer may choose to determine the base value of the vehicle using suggested retail price information from the manufacturer. The registrar must use this base value. The dealer must retain records to show how the value was determined.

Sec. 12.  Listing by dealers.  Allows dealers to withhold tax due from the prior registration period. A lien for registration tax does not attach.

Sec. 13.  Failure to submit within ten days.  Allows deputy registrars to accept applications for registration or transfer.

Sec. 14.  Filing registration applications.  Allows all deputy registrars to accept and process fleet registrations.

Sec. 15.  Fee.  Deputy registrars may collect a filing fee for the transactions. The commissioner may impose an equivalent administrative fee instead of the filing fee.

Sec. 16.  Multiple licenses.  Allows a dealer with more than one location in the state to move vehicles between the lots without assigning vehicle ownership or title to the lot where the vehicle is located.

Sec. 17.  Designated dealer title and registration liaison.  The commissioner of public safety must designate one or more department employees to respond to questions from dealers and troubleshoot dealer issues related to vehicle titles and registration.

Sec. 18.  Late fee.  The $2 late fee does not apply to transfers from licensed vehicle dealers.

Sec. 19.  Expedited driver and vehicle services; fee. Allows driver’s license agents and deputy registrars to expedite processing of licenses, permits, ID cards, and vehicle title transactions. The commissioner must not decline an expedited service request solely based on the limitations of the DPS technology systems. Effective November 1, 2018.

Sec. 20.  Electronic transmission.  Requires the commissioner of public safety to establish standards to approve and allow software companies that provide software to dealers to electronically transmit vehicle title transfer and registration information. Approved companies must be allowed access to department facilities, staff, and technology.

Sec. 21.  Transactions by mail.  Allows deputy registrars to accept and process applications submitted by mail.

Sec. 22.  Vehicle registration data; federal compliance.  Prohibits the commissioner of public safety from restricting the uses for which a licensed dealer may obtain specific data about an individual obtained by the department in connection with a motor vehicle record.

Sec. 23.  Issuance of certificate by deputy registrar.  Allows deputy registrars to issue vehicle titles no later than August 1, 2019.

Sec. 24.  Owner’s interest terminated or vehicle sold by secured party.  Allows an assignee of a secured party to perform certain actions in place of the assignee.

Sec. 25.  Salvage titles.  Broadens the requirements to obtain a salvage title to cover all vehicles. Under current law, a salvage title is only required for late-model vehicles (five-years old or newer) or high value vehicles (worth over $9,000 before being damaged or an older vehicle having a gross weight of over 26,000 pounds).

Sec. 26.  Notice of perfection by dealer.  When a security interest in a vehicle sold by a dealer is perfected, the dealer may provide a statement of perfection to the secured party. The statement is considered prima facie evidence of the facts in the statement.

Sec. 27.  Motor vehicle title transfer and registration advisory committee.  Establishes the Motor Vehicle Title and Registration Advisory Committee to advise the commissioner of public safety on title and registration issues. The commissioner must annually submit reports to the legislature summarizing the committee’s activities, issues identified by the committee, methods taken to address these issues, and recommendations for legislative action.

Sec. 28.  Amounts.  Removes references to the expired technology surcharge.

Sec. 29.  Railroad train.  Amends the definition of “railroad train” to include other on-track equipment and rolling stock operated on rails.

Sec. 30.  Zoning within local area.  Allows the commissioner of transportation, at the request of a county board, to establish a speed limit in excess of 55 m.p.h., based on an engineering study. The county engineer must erect signs.  Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 31. Slow-moving vehicle.   Requires a mandatory fine of at least $100 (in addition to the $75 criminal and traffic surcharge) for a person who operates a vehicle at less than the speed of traffic in the left driving lane. This does not apply if the vehicle is passing another vehicle, is preparing for a left turn, or is preparing to exit a controlled access highway via a left side exit, or if a specific lane is designated for a specific type of traffic.

Sec. 32.  Passing parked emergency vehicle; citation; probable cause.  If it is not possible to move to another lane, a driver to slow down to a reasonable and prudent speed while passing a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights on.  Effective August 1, 2018.

Sec. 33.  Passing certain parked vehicles.  Requires a driver to slow down to a reasonable and prudent speed while passing a stopped maintenance, utility, or construction vehicle.  Effective August 1, 2018.

Sec. 34.  Requirements.  Drivers must stop at a railroad crossing when on-track equipment or rolling stock is moving on the tracks.

Sec. 35.  Certain vehicles to stop at railroad crossing.  Requires busses and other vehicles for hire to stop, listen, and look at railroad track for the approach of on-track equipment or rolling stock. On-track equipment or rolling stock must not proceed across an exempt crossing unless a person is present to warn traffic.

Sec. 36.  Crossing railroad tracks with certain equipment.  Requires drivers of tractors or other slow-moving equipment to stop, listen, and look for when on-track equipment or rolling stock at railroad crossings.

Sec. 37.  Manner of loading. It is not an unsecured load for a vehicle hauling sugar beets to leak liquid.  Makes technical and format changes.

Sec. 38.  Automobile transporter.  Allows stinger-steered combination automobile transporters 80 feet or less in length to be operated on interstate highways and other designated highways and may carry a load that extends four feet or less in front of the vehicle and six feet or less in the rear. An automobile transporter may transport cargo or freight on a backhaul, as long as it complies with the weight limitations for a truck tractor and semitrailer combination. Definitions are provided.

Sec. 39.  Conditions.  Allows a vehicle hauling raw or unfinished forest products to operate on a segment of Interstate 35 between Carlton County to St. Louis County.

Sec. 40.  Certain emergency vehicles.  Subjects emergency vehicles designed to transport personnel and equipment to support fire suppression or mitigate other hazardous situations to specified weight limits when operated on an interstate highway.

Sec. 41.  License endorsement and permit requirements.  Allows a person with a two-wheeled vehicle instruction permit to operate a motorcycle on the interstate.

Sec. 42.  Restricted license for farm work.  Allows an individual to use a restricted license for farm work on any type of farm, regardless of how it is legally organized.  The radius in which a farm work license-holder may operate is increased from 20 to 40 miles of the farmhouse.  Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 43.  Fees.  Removes references to the expired technology surcharge.

Sec. 44.  Legislative report. The commissioner of transportation is not required to submit a report on the Transportation Economic Development program if no financial assistance was granted in the previous 24 months.

Sec. 45.  Expiration.  Extends the sunset date of the Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee to June 30, 2022.

Sec. 46.  Continuation of carrier rules.  Makes a conforming change.

Sec. 47.  Hours of service exemptions.  Federal hours of services regulations do not apply to drivers engaged in intrastate transportation within a 150-air-mile radius from the source or distribution point.  Because specific harvest periods are eliminated, these exemptions apply year-round.

Sec. 48.  Hours of service of driver.  Incorporates a federal exemption on agricultural operations during planting and harvesting periods. Establishes the planting and harvest period as January 31 through December 31 of each year, so that the federal exemption applies year-round.

Sec. 49.  Order.  Eliminates the Commissioner of Transportation’s (“commissioner”) authority to issue orders regarding tariffs and accounting.

Sec. 50.  Amount of penalty; considerations.  Eliminates the commissioner’s authority to assess administrative penalties for motor carrier violations related to tariffs and accounting requirements. Makes technical changes.

Sec. 51.  Registration, insurance, and filing requirements.  Eliminates the requirement of the certificate or permit holder to file rates and tariffs with the commissioner.

Sec. 52.  Tariff maintenance and contents.  A household goods mover must maintain a tariff showing rates and charges for transporting household goods. The tariff must be prepared in accordance with federal regulations.

Sec. 53.  Tariff availability.  A household good mover must maintain all of its tariffs at its principal place of business and at each of its terminal locations. The tariffs must be available for public inspection.

Section 54.  Compensation fixed by schedule on file.  Makes technical and conforming changes.

Sec. 55.  Highway user tax distribution fund use limitation.  Prohibits the commissioner of public safety from using money from the highway user tax distribution fund to pay for employees working in the public information center.

Sec. 56.  Driver and vehicle services fund.  Creates the driver and vehicle services fund within the state treasury.

Sec. 57.  Driver and vehicle services accounts.  Moves the existing vehicle services operating account, driver services operating account, and driver and vehicle services technology account into the new driver and vehicle services fund; these accounts are currently in the special revenue find. This section also removes references to the expired technology surcharge and makes other technical and conforming changes.  Requires annual reporting on the driver and vehicle services technology account; project costs; and an estimate of maintenance costs.

Sec. 58. Budget.  Requires the transportation portion of the Metropolitan Council’s budget to cover a fiscal year that runs from July 1 to the following June 30 (which matches the state fiscal year), with each transportation budget to be finalized by June 15. The council’s budgeting in its other functional areas remains unchanged from a calendar year basis. The change goes into effect for a budget cycle beginning July 1, 2019.

Sec. 59.  Budget amendments.  Requires the Metropolitan Council to submit quarterly reports to the Legislative Commissions on Metropolitan Governance and the legislature on any changes or variances it has made from its adopted budget. Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 60.  Accounts; accounting system; controls; audits.  Requires the Metropolitan Council to use the state accounting system for its transportation-related financial activity. The change goes into effect for a budget cycle beginning July 1, 2019.

Sec. 61.  Overview of revenues and expenditures; forecast. Requires the Metropolitan Council to develop a financial overview and forecast in conjunction with the state forecasts in November and February. Specifies financial overview content, including identification of actuals for the previous four years and anticipated financials for the forecast period. The council must review the information with the legislature within two weeks of each forecast. Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 62.  Budget assumptions.  Requires the Metropolitan Council to do three things as part of its budget submission to the legislature:  (1) identify the budget assumptions used to prepare the submission; (2) provide copies of any reports or applications that were submitted to the Federal Transit Administration and identify the assumptions made in those reports and applications; and (3) explain the impact of the identified assumptions on the Council’s forecast.

Sec. 63.  Requirement.  Makes conforming and clarifying changes. Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 64.  Transportation policy plan. Expands the information required in the Metropolitan Council’s transportation policy plan, to include three scenarios on different levels of funding availability. Requires a plan for each scenario to identify long-term transit system impacts, including unfunded costs for each transit mode. Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 65.  Operating costs.  Provides a definition of “operating costs” for purposes of light rail transit funding.

Section 66.  Legislative report.  Requires the Council, as part of its legislative report, to identify and explain assumptions and methodologies used to prepare the report.  (The legislative report is submitted each even-numbered year and is a report on transit finance in the metropolitan area.)

Sec. 67.  Exemptions; certain manufacturers; commissioner of transportation; road maintenance.  Allows MNDOT to waive payment and performance bonds on direct negotiation contracts.

Sec. 68.  Administration and related services.  Amends a provision from the 2017 Transportation omnibus bill that prevents the Department of Public Safety from spending money from the highway user tax distribution fund for public information center employees.

Sec. 69.  Editing MNLARS transactions.  Requires the commissioner of public safety to ensure that deputy registrars are able to edit specified transactions in MNLARS. The ability to edit a transaction ends at the end of the business day after the transaction was completed. Any edits made are tracked in MNLARS.

Sec. 70.  Legislative Route No. 222 removed.  Turns back Highway 222 to Red Lake County.

Sec. 71.  Legislative Route No. 253 removed.  Turns back Highway 253 to Faribault County.

Sec. 72.  Legislative Route No. 254 removed.  Turns back Highway 254 to Faribault County.

Sec. 73.  Legislative Route No. 277 removed.  Turns back Highway 277 to Chippewa County.

Sec. 74.  Legislative Route No. 298 removed.  Turns back Highway 298 to the City of Faribault.

Sec. 75.  Legislative Route No. 299 removed.  Turns back Highway 299 to the City of Faribault.

Sec. 76.  Legislative Route No. 323 removed.  Turns back Highway 323 to the City of Faribault.

Sec. 77.  MNLARS reimbursement from the Joint House and Senate Subcommittee on Claims.  A person may seek reimbursement from the Joint House and Senate Subcommittee on Claims for costs incurred due to MNLARS.  Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 78.  Motor Vehicle Title Transfer and Registration Advisory Committee; First Appointments; First Meeting.  Requires appointments to the Motor Vehicle Title Transfer and Registration Advisory Committee to be made by September 15, 2018, and the first meeting must be by November 1, 2018.

Sec. 79.  Public awareness campaign.  Requires the commissioner of public safety to conduct a public awareness campaign to increase knowledge about slow-moving traffic in left-hand lanes.

Sec. 80.  Marked Interstate Highway 94 study; appropriation.   Appropriates $500,000 in fiscal year 2018 from the trunk highway fund to the commissioner of transportation to conduct a feasibility study on expanding Interstate Highway 94 from St. Michael to St. Cloud.

Sec. 81.  Interstate Highway 35 at County Road 9 in Rice County interchange feasibility study; appropriation. Appropriates $500,000 in fiscal year 2018 from the trunk highway fund to the commissioner of transportation to conduct a feasibility study on an interchange at Interstate Highway 35 and County Road 9 in Rice County.

Sec. 82.  Appropriation; deputy registrar reimbursements.  Appropriates $9,000,000 in fiscal year 2018 from the special revenue fund to the commissioner of management and budget (“commissioner”) for grants to deputy registrars. Of this amount, $3,000,000 is from the vehicle services operating account and $6,000,000 is from the driver services operating account.  $4,500,000 is allocated proportionally based on the number of transactions completed by a deputy registrar from August 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018, compared to the total number of transactions completed by all deputy registrars in the same time period.  $4,500,000 is allocated proportionally based on the number of transactions completed by a deputy registrar from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017, compared to the total number of transactions completed by all deputy registrars in that time period.

The commissioner must exclude transactions for a deputy registrar that is no longer operating on the effective date of this section and for a deputy registrar office operated by the state. A deputy registrar office operated by the state is ineligible to receive funds under this section.

The commissioner must make efforts to reimburse deputy registrars within 30 days of enactment.  Effective June 1, 2018.

Sec. 83.  Appropriation; MNLARS funding.  Appropriates $15.1 million from the general fund in fiscal year 2019 to the commissioner of public safety for contracted technical staff and technical costs related to improving MNLARS.  An additional $5.5 million is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal year 2020 for the final payment of the FAST contract. These appropriations are subject to quarterly review by the MNLARS steering committee. The MNLARS appropriations cannot be used for additional employees at the Department of Public Safety.

Sec. 84.  Revisor’s instruction.  Directs the revisor to change statutory references to the “special revenue fund” to the “driver and vehicle services fund” where appropriate.

Sec. 85.  Repealer.  Repeals Minnesota  Statutes, section 168.013, subd. 21 (establishing the technology surcharge, which is now expired) and section 221.161, subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 (relating to household good carrier tariffs).

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