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169.09.13(d)

Statute ID: 18717

Statute Function ID: 38119

Traffic Accidents - Improper Disclosure of Accident Report Information

In Effect

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Charge

Classifications

Offense Level:

Misdemeanor (M)

General Offense Code:

DWI/Traffic/Vehicle Regulation (4)

Offense Summary Code & Rank:

Traffic/Accidents(exclude DWI) (J) (Rank 28)

Detailed Offense Code:

Traffic (419)

Offense Severity Level:

Function Text:

UCR Code

Description

999

NIBRS Non-Reportable

Flags

Crime of Violence:

Targeted Misdemeanor:

Predatory Offender Registration Review:

Enhanceable:

Certify to DPS:

Report to DNR:

DPS Group:

Conditional Release:

Payable:

Petty Misdemeanor Only if Prosecutor Certifies:

Third Violation Indicator:

Qualified Domestic Violence Related:

Nonviolent Controlled Substance Offender Review:

Wildlife Restitution:

Statute Number:

169.09.13(d)

Enactment Date:

Apr 25, 2023

Effective Date:

Jul 1, 2023

Expiration Date:

Repealed?:

Summary Text:

Traffic Accidents - Improper Disclosure of Accident Report Information

Statute ID:

18717

Created:

Jun 6, 2023 by mnjis.legal.analyst@state.mn.us

Updated:

Jun 6, 2023 by mnjis.legal.analyst@state.mn.us

Last Update Action:

Added

Legal Analyst Comment:

Amended 2023 C68 Art6 Sect7; Effective 07/01/2023

Summary Text:

Traffic Accidents - Improper Disclosure of Accident Report Information

Link to MN Statute Text:

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/169/09.html

Legislative Session:

2023 - Regular

Session Law Text?:

Statute text last updated on:

Jun 6, 2023

(a) All reports and supplemental information required under this section must be for the use of the commissioner of public safety and other appropriate state, federal, county, and municipal governmental agencies for accident analysis purposes, except:

(1) upon written request, the commissioner of public safety, a full-service provider as defined in section 171.01, subdivision 33a, or any law enforcement agency must disclose the report required under subdivision 8 to:

(i) any individual involved in the accident, the representative of the individual's estate, or the surviving spouse, or one or more surviving next of kin, or a trustee appointed under section 573.02;

(ii) any other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs other pecuniary loss by virtue of the accident;

(iii) legal counsel of a person described in item (i) or (ii); or

(iv) a representative of the insurer of any person described in item (i) or (ii); or

(v) a city or county attorney or an attorney representing the state in an implied consent action who is charged with the prosecution of a traffic or criminal offense that is the result of a traffic crash investigation conducted by law enforcement;

(1) the commissioner of public safety or any law enforcement agency shall, upon written request of any individual involved in an accident or upon written request of the representative of the individual's estate, surviving spouse, or one or more surviving next of kin, or a trustee appointed under section 573.02, or other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs other pecuniary loss by virtue of the accident, disclose to the requester, the requester's legal counsel, or a representative of the requester's insurer the report required under subdivision 8;

(2) the commissioner of public safety may verify with insurance companies vehicle insurance information to enforce sections 65B.48, 169.792, 169.793, 169.796, and 169.797;

(3) the commissioner of public safety must provide the commissioner of transportation the information obtained for each traffic accident involving a commercial motor vehicle, for purposes of administering commercial vehicle safety regulations;

(4) upon specific request, the commissioner of public safety must provide the commissioner of transportation the information obtained regarding each traffic accident involving damage to identified state-owned infrastructure, for purposes of debt collection under section 161.20, subdivision 4; and

(5) the commissioner of public safety may give to the United States Department of Transportation commercial vehicle accident information in connection with federal grant programs relating to safety.

(b) Accident reports and data contained in the reports are not discoverable under any provision of law or rule of court. A report must not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, or any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of an accident. However, the commissioner of public safety must furnish, upon the demand of any person who has or claims to have made a report or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the commissioner solely to prove compliance or failure to comply with the requirements that the report be made to the commissioner.

(c) Nothing in this subdivision prevents any individual who has made a report under this section from providing information to any individuals involved in an accident or their representatives or from testifying in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident, as to facts within the individual's knowledge. It is intended by this subdivision to render privileged the reports required, but it is not intended to prohibit proof of the facts to which the reports relate.

(d) Disclosing any information contained in any accident report, except as provided in this subdivision, section 13.82, subdivision 3 or 6, or other statutes, is a misdemeanor.

(e) The commissioner of public safety or full-service provider as defined in section 171.01, subdivision 33a, must charge authorized persons as described in paragraph (a) a $5 fee for a copy of an accident report. Of the $5 fee collected by the commissioner under this paragraph, 90 percent must be deposited and credited to the driver and vehicle services operating account under section 299A.705 and ten percent must be deposited in the general fund. Of the $5 fee collected by a full-service provider, the provider must transmit 50 cents to the commissioner for deposit in the general fund, and the provider must retain the remainder. The commissioner may also furnish an electronic copy of the database of accident records, which must not contain personal or private data on an individual, to private agencies as provided in paragraph (g), for not less than the cost of preparing the copies on a bulk basis as provided in section 13.03, subdivision 3.

(f) The fees specified in paragraph (e) notwithstanding, the commissioner and law enforcement agencies must charge commercial users who request access to response or incident data relating to accidents a fee not to exceed 50 cents per record. "Commercial user" is a user who in one location requests access to data in more than five accident reports per month, unless the user establishes that access is not for a commercial purpose. Of the money collected by the commissioner under this paragraph, 90 percent must be deposited and credited to the driver and vehicle services operating account under section 299A.705 and ten percent must be deposited in the general fund.

(g) The fees in paragraphs (e) and (f) notwithstanding, the commissioner must provide an electronic copy of the accident records database to the public on a case-by-case basis using the cost-recovery charges provided for under section 13.03, subdivision 3. The database provided must not contain personal or private data on an individual. However, unless the accident records data base includes the vehicle identification number, the commissioner must include the vehicle registration plate number if a private agency certifies and agrees that the agency:

(1) is in the business of collecting accident and damage information on vehicles;

(2) will use the vehicle registration plate number only for identifying vehicles that have been involved in accidents or damaged, to provide this information to persons seeking access to a vehicle's history and not for identifying individuals or for any other purpose; and

(3) will be subject to the penalties and remedies under sections 13.08 and 13.09.