Bill Text: MI HB5936 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Chaptered

Michigan House Bill 5936 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Traffic control; driver license; driving skills test required to obtain a commercial driver license; allow waiver for certain military personnel and provide for the cancellation of certain licenses and retesting of certain applicants. Amends sec. 312f of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.312f).

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 52-6)

Status: (Passed) 2012-12-31 - Assigned Pa 473'12 2012 Addenda [HB5936 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-HB5936-Chaptered.html

Act No. 473

Public Acts of 2012

Approved by the Governor

December 22, 2012

Filed with the Secretary of State

December 27, 2012

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 28, 2013

STATE OF MICHIGAN

96TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2012

Introduced by Reps. Hughes, MacMaster, Jenkins, Gilbert, Heise, Shirkey, Johnson, Foster, Damrow, Potvin, Kurtz, Kowall, Lund, Price, Denby, Pscholka, Ouimet, Lyons, Goike, O’Brien, Rendon, Zorn, Liss, Opsommer, Hobbs, Rutledge, Tyler, Ananich, Lane, MacGregor, Agema, Glardon, Nesbitt, Genetski, Lori, Poleski, Huuki, Crawford, Somerville, Knollenberg, Callton, LaFontaine, Muxlow, Outman, Shaughnessy, Wayne Schmidt, Rogers, Bumstead, Graves, Hooker, Daley, Haveman, Franz, Haines, Jacobsen, Moss, Horn and Stapleton

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5936

AN ACT to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “An act to provide for the registration, titling, sale, transfer, and regulation of certain vehicles operated upon the public highways of this state or any other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles and distressed vehicles; to provide for the licensing of dealers; to provide for the examination, licensing, and control of operators and chauffeurs; to provide for the giving of proof of financial responsibility and security by owners and operators of vehicles; to provide for the imposition, levy, and collection of specific taxes on vehicles, and the levy and collection of sales and use taxes, license fees, and permit fees; to provide for the regulation and use of streets and highways; to create certain funds; to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act; to provide for civil liability of owners and operators of vehicles and service of process on residents and nonresidents; to regulate the introduction and use of certain evidence; to provide for the levy of certain assessments; to provide for the enforcement of this act; to provide for the creation of and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies; to impose liability upon the state or local agencies; to provide appropriations for certain purposes; to repeal all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act or contrary to this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific date,” by amending section 312f (MCL 257.312f), as amended by 2011 PA 159.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 312f. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person shall be not less than 18 years of age before he or she is issued a vehicle group designation or indorsement, other than a motorcycle indorsement, or not less than 21 years of age and has been approved by the transportation security administration for a hazardous material endorsement before he or she is issued a hazardous material indorsement on an operator’s or chauffeur’s license and, as provided in this section, the person shall pass knowledge and driving skills tests that comply with minimum federal standards prescribed in 49 CFR part 383. A person who is 18 years of age or older operating a vehicle to be used for farming purposes only may obtain an A or B vehicle group designation or an F vehicle indorsement. Each written examination given an applicant for a vehicle group designation or indorsement shall include subjects designed to cover the type or general class of vehicle to be operated. Except as follows, a person shall pass an examination that includes a driving skills test designed to test competency of the applicant for an original vehicle group designation and passenger indorsement on an operator’s or chauffeur’s license to drive that type or general class of vehicle upon the highways of this state with safety to persons and property:

(a) The secretary of state shall waive the driving skills test for a person operating a vehicle that is used under the conditions described in section 312e(8)(a) to (d) unless the vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more on the power unit and is to be used to carry hazardous materials on which a placard is required under 49 CFR parts 100 to 199.

(b) The driving skills test may be waived if the applicant has a valid license with the appropriate vehicle group designation, passenger vehicle indorsement, or school bus indorsement in another state issued in compliance with 49 USC 31301 to 31317.

(c) The secretary of state may waive the driving skills test required under this section for a person with military commercial motor vehicle experience if the person, at the time of application, certifies and provides evidence satisfactory to the secretary of state that he or she continuously met all of the requirements under 49 CFR 383 during the 2-year period immediately preceding the date of application for the commercial driver license.

(2) Except for a person who has held an operator’s or chauffeur’s license for less than 1 year, the secretary of state shall waive the knowledge test and the driving skills test and issue a 1-year seasonal restricted vehicle group designation to an otherwise qualified applicant to operate a group B or a group C vehicle for a farm related service industry if all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The applicant meets the requirements of 49 CFR 383.77.

(b) The seasons for which the seasonal restricted vehicle group designation is issued are from April 2 to June 30 and from September 2 to November 30 only of a 12-month period or, at the option of the applicant, for not more than 180 days from the date of issuance in a 12-month period.

(c) The commercial motor vehicle for which the seasonal restricted vehicle group designation is issued shall be operated only if all the following conditions are met:

(i) The commercial motor vehicle is operated only on routes within 150 miles from the place of business to the farm or farms being served.

(ii) The commercial motor vehicle does not transport a quantity of hazardous materials on which a placard under 49 CFR parts 100 to 199 is required except for the following:

(A) Diesel motor fuel in quantities of 1,000 gallons or less.

(B) Liquid fertilizers in quantities of 3,000 gallons or less.

(iii) The commercial motor vehicle does not require the H, N, P, S, T, or X vehicle indorsement.

(3) A seasonal restricted vehicle group designation under this section shall be issued, suspended, revoked, canceled, denied, or renewed in accordance with this act.

(4) The secretary of state may enter into an agreement with another public or private corporation or agency to conduct a driving skills test required under this section, section 312e, or 49 CFR part 383. Before the secretary of state authorizes a person to administer a corporation’s or agency’s driver skills testing operations or authorizes an examiner to conduct a driving skills test, that person or examiner must complete both a state and federal bureau of investigation fingerprint based criminal history check through the department of state police.

(5) The secretary of state shall not issue a commercial learner’s permit, a vehicle group designation, or a vehicle indorsement to an applicant for an original vehicle group designation or vehicle indorsement under section 312e or may cancel a commercial learner’s permit or all vehicle group designations or endorsements on a person’s operator’s or chauffeur’s license to whom 1 or more of the following apply:

(a) The applicant has had his or her license suspended or revoked for a reason other than as provided in section 321a, 515, 732a, or 801c or section 30 of the support and parenting time enforcement act, 1982 PA 295, MCL 552.630, in the 36 months immediately preceding application. However, a vehicle group designation may be issued if the suspension or revocation was due to a temporary medical condition or failure to appear at a reexamination as provided in section 320.

(b) The applicant was convicted of or incurred a bond forfeiture in relation to a 6-point violation as provided in section 320a in the 24 months immediately preceding application if the violation occurred while the applicant was operating a commercial motor vehicle, or a violation of section 625(3) or former section 625b, or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section 625(3) or former section 625b in the 24 months immediately preceding application, if the applicant was operating any type of motor vehicle.

(c) The applicant is listed on the national driver register, the commercial driver license information system, or the driving records of the state in which the applicant was previously licensed as being disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle or as having a license or driving privilege suspended, revoked, canceled, or denied.

(d) The applicant is listed on the national driver register, the commercial driver license information system, or the driving records of the state in which the applicant was previously licensed as having had a license suspended, revoked, or canceled in the 36 months immediately preceding application if a suspension or revocation would have been imposed under this act had the applicant been licensed in this state in the original instance. This subdivision does not apply to a suspension or revocation that would have been imposed due to a temporary medical condition or under section 321a, 515, 732a, or 801c or section 30 of the support and parenting time enforcement act, 1982 PA 295, MCL 552.630.

(e) The applicant is subject to a suspension or revocation under section 319b or would have been subject to a suspension or revocation under section 319b if the applicant had been issued a vehicle group designation or vehicle indorsement.

(f) The applicant has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle under 49 USC 31301 to 31317 or the applicant’s license to operate a commercial motor vehicle has been suspended, revoked, denied, or canceled within 36 months immediately preceding the date of application.

(g) The United States secretary of transportation has disqualified the applicant from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

(h) The applicant fails to satisfy the federal regulations promulgated under 49 CFR parts 383 and 391 by refusing to certify the type of commercial motor vehicle operation the applicant intends to perform and fails to present valid medical certification to the secretary of state if required to do so.

(i) The applicant has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle due to improper or fraudulent testing.

(j) If the secretary of state determines through a governmental investigation that there is reason to believe that a commercial driver license or endorsement was issued as a result of fraudulent or improper conduct in taking a knowledge test or driving skills test required under 49 CFR 383, the secretary of state shall require the applicant to retake and successfully pass that test. The secretary of state shall cancel any commercial driver license or endorsement issued as a result of the suspect test unless the applicant retakes and passes that test.

(6) The secretary of state shall not renew or upgrade a vehicle group designation if 1 or more of the following conditions exist:

(a) The United States secretary of transportation has disqualified the applicant from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

(b) The applicant is listed on the national driver register or the commercial driver license information system as being disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle or as having a driver license or driving privilege suspended, revoked, canceled, or denied.

(c) On or after January 30, 2012, the applicant fails to meet the requirements of 49 CFR parts 383 and 391 by refusing to certify the type of commercial motor vehicle operation the applicant intends to perform and fails to present medical certification to the secretary of state if required to do so.

(7) The secretary of state shall only consider bond forfeitures under subsection (5)(b) for violations that occurred on or after January 1, 1990 when determining the applicability of subsection (5).

(8) If an applicant for an original vehicle group designation was previously licensed in another jurisdiction, the secretary of state shall request a copy of the applicant’s driving record from that jurisdiction. If 1 or more of the conditions described in subsection (5) exist in that jurisdiction when the secretary of state receives the copy, the secretary of state shall cancel all vehicle group designations on the person’s operator’s or chauffeur’s license.

(9) The secretary of state shall cancel all vehicle group designations on a person’s operator’s or chauffeur’s license upon receiving notice from the United States secretary of transportation, the national driver register, the commercial driver license system, or another state or jurisdiction that 1 or more of the conditions described in subsection (5) existed at the time of the person’s application in this state.

(10) The secretary of state shall cancel all vehicle group designations on the person’s operator’s or chauffeur’s license upon receiving proper notice that the person no longer meets the federal driver qualification requirements under 49 CFR parts 383 and 391 to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate or intrastate commerce, or the person no longer meets the driver qualification requirements to operate a commercial motor vehicle in intrastate commerce under the motor carrier safety act of 1963, 1963 PA 181, MCL 480.11 to 480.25.

(11) Subsection (5)(a), (b), (d), and (f) do not apply to an applicant for an original vehicle group designation who at the time of application has a valid license to operate a commercial motor vehicle issued by any state in compliance with 49 USC 31301 to 31317.

(12) As used in this section, “farm related service industry” means custom harvesters, farm retail outlets and suppliers, agri-chemical business, or livestock feeders.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor