Senate bill NO. 487

INTRODUCED BY S. Vance

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING MOTOR VEHICLE LAWS; REVISING CREDENTIALS VALID FOR A DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLICATION; REVISING PROCEDURE FOR REVOCATION OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE; ALLOWING A PERSON TO HAVE ONLY ONE nonvoided DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION CARD; and AMENDING SECTIONS 61-5-107, 61-5-110, 61-5-201, 61-11-101, 61-12-501, and 61-12-504, MCA.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 61-5-107, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-5-107. Application for license or motorcycle endorsement. (1) Each application for a learner license, driver's license, commercial driver's license, or motorcycle endorsement must be made on a form furnished by the department. Each application must be accompanied by the proper fee, and payment of the fee entitles the applicant to not more than three attempts to pass the examination within a period of 6 months from the date of application. A voter registration form for mail registration as prescribed by the secretary of state must be attached to each driver's license application. If the applicant wishes to register to vote, the department shall accept the registration and forward the form to the election administrator.

(2) Each application must include the full legal name, date of birth, sex, residence address of the applicant [and the applicant's social security number], must include a brief description of the applicant, and must provide the following additional information:

(a) the name of each jurisdiction in which the applicant has previously been licensed to drive any type of motor vehicle during the 10-year period immediately preceding the date of the application;

(b) a certification from the applicant that the applicant is not currently subject to a suspension, revocation, cancellation, disqualification, or withdrawal of a previously issued driver's license or any driving privileges in another jurisdiction and that the applicant does not have a driver's license from another jurisdiction;

(c) a brief description of any physical or mental disability, limitation, or condition that impairs or may impair the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the safe operation of a motor vehicle on the highway;

(d) a brief description of any adaptive equipment or operational restrictions that the applicant relies upon or intends to rely upon to attain the ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the safe operation of a motor vehicle on the highway, including the nature of the equipment or restrictions; and

(e) if the applicant is a foreign national whose presence in the United States is temporarily authorized under federal law, the expiration date of the official document issued to the applicant by the bureau of citizenship and immigration services of the department of homeland security authorizing the applicant's presence in the United States.

[(3) The department shall keep the applicant's social security number from this source confidential, except that the number may be used for purposes of subtitle VI of Title 49 of the U.S.C. or as otherwise permitted by state law administered by the department and may be provided to the department of public health and human services for use in administering Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.]

(4) (a) When an application is received from an applicant who is not ineligible for licensure under 61-5-105 and who was previously licensed by another jurisdiction, the department shall request a copy of the applicant's driving record from each jurisdiction in which the applicant was licensed in the preceding 10-year period. The driving record may be transmitted manually or by electronic medium.

(b) When received, the driving records must be appended to the driver's record created and maintained in this state. The department may rely on information contained in driving records received under this section to determine the appropriate action to be taken against the applicant upon subsequent receipt of a report of a conviction or other conduct requiring suspension or revocation of a driver's license under state law.

(5) An individual who is under 26 years of age but at least 15 years of age and who is required to register in compliance with the federal Military Selective Service Act, 50 App. U.S.C. 453, must be provided an opportunity to fulfill those registration requirements in conjunction with an application for a learner license, driver's license, commercial driver's license, or state identification card. If under 18 years of age but at least 15 years of age, an individual must be provided an opportunity to be registered by the selective service system upon attaining 18 years of age. Any registration information supplied on the application must be transmitted by the department to the selective service system. (Bracketed language terminates on occurrence of contingency--sec. 1, Ch. 27, L. 1999.)"

Section 2. Section 61-5-110, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-5-110. Records check of applicants -- examination of applicants -- cooperative driver testing programs -- reciprocal agreement with foreign country. (1) Prior to examining an applicant for a driver's license, the department shall conduct a check of the applicant's driving record by querying the national driver register, established under 49 U.S.C. 30302, and the commercial driver's license information system, established under 49 U.S.C. 31309.

(2) (a) The department shall examine each applicant for a driver's license or motorcycle endorsement, except as otherwise provided in this section. The examination must include a test of the applicant's eyesight, a knowledge test examining the applicant's ability to read and understand highway signs and the applicant's knowledge of the traffic laws of this state, and, except as provided in 61-5-118, a road test or a skills test demonstrating the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the safe operation of a motor vehicle or motorcycle. The road test or skills test must be performed by the applicant in a motor vehicle that the applicant certifies is representative of the class and type of motor vehicle for which the applicant is seeking a license or endorsement.

(b) The knowledge test, road test, or skills test may be waived by the department:

(i) upon certification of the applicant's successful completion of the test by a certified cooperative driver testing program as provided in subsection (3) or by a certified third-party commercial driver testing program as provided in 61-5-118; or

(ii) in accordance with a driver's license reciprocity agreement between the department and a foreign country.

(3) The department is authorized to certify as a cooperative driver testing program any state-approved high school traffic education course offered by or in cooperation with a school district that employs an approved instructor who has current endorsement from the superintendent of public instruction as a teacher of traffic education or any motorcycle safety training course approved by the board of regents and that employs an approved instructor of motorcycle safety training and who agrees to:

(a) administer standardized knowledge and road tests or skills tests required by the department to students participating in the district's high school traffic education courses or motorcycle safety training courses approved by the board of regents;

(b) certify the test results to the department; and

(4) (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, an applicant who has a valid driver's license issued by another jurisdiction that is currently valid or expired for less than 1 year may surrender that license for a Montana license of the same class, type, and endorsement upon payment of the required fees and successful completion of a vision examination. In addition, an applicant surrendering a commercial driver's license issued by another jurisdiction shall successfully complete any examination required by federal regulations before being issued a commercial driver's license by the department.

(b) The department may require an applicant who surrenders a valid driver's license issued by another jurisdiction that is currently valid or expired for less than 1 year to submit to a knowledge and road or skills test if:

(i) the applicant has a physical or mental disability, limitation, or condition that impairs, or may impair, the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the safe operation of a motor vehicle on the highway; and

(ii) the surrendered license does not include readily discernible adaptive equipment or operational restrictions appropriate to the applicant's functional abilities; or

(iii) the applicant wants to remove or modify a restriction imposed on the surrendered license.

(c) When a license from another jurisdiction is surrendered, the department shall notify the issuing agency from the other jurisdiction that the applicant has surrendered the license. If the applicant wants to retain the license from another jurisdiction for identification or other nondriving purposes, the department shall place a distinctive mark on the license, indicating that the license may be used for nondriving purposes only, and return the marked license to the applicant.

(5) The department may enter into a reciprocity agreement with a foreign country to provide for the mutual recognition and exchange of a valid driver's license issued by this state or the foreign country if the department determines that the licensing standards of the foreign country are comparable to those of this state. The agreement may not include the reciprocal exchange of a commercial driver's license."

Section 3. Section 61-5-201, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-5-201. Authority of department to cancel license. (1) The department may cancel a driver's license if it has reasonable grounds to believe that:

(a) the licensee was not entitled to the issuance;

(b) since the issuance, the licensee has become ineligible as determined pursuant to the provisions of 61-5-105; or

(c) the licensee failed to give the required or correct information in the licensee's application or committed any fraud in making the application; or

(d) the licensee has applied for another driver's license or an identification card issued by the department.

(2) Upon cancellation, the licensee shall surrender the canceled license to the department.

(3) A person whose driver's license is canceled because the person failed to give the required or correct information on the application or committed any fraud in making the application is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a period of 60 days from the date of the cancellation."

Section 4. Section 61-11-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-11-101. Report of convictions and suspension or revocation of driver's licenses -- surrender of licenses. (1) If a person is convicted of an offense for which chapter 5 or chapter 8, part 8, makes mandatory the suspension or revocation of the driver's license or commercial driver's license of the person by the department, the court in which the conviction occurs shall require the surrender to it of all driver's licenses then held by the convicted person. The court shall, within 5 days after the conviction, forward the license and a record of the conviction to the department and destroy the driver's licenses. If the person does not possess a driver's license, the court shall indicate that fact in its report to the department.

(2) A court having jurisdiction over offenses committed under a statute of this state or a municipal ordinance regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways, except for standing or parking statutes or ordinances, shall forward a record of the conviction, as defined in 61-5-213, to the department within 5 days after the conviction. The court may recommend that the department issue a restricted probationary license on the condition that the individual comply with the requirement that the person attend and complete a chemical dependency education course, treatment, or both, as ordered by the court under 61-8-1009.

(3) A court or other agency of this state or of a subdivision of the state that has jurisdiction to take any action suspending, revoking, or otherwise limiting a license to drive shall report an action and the adjudication upon which it is based to the department within 5 days on forms furnished by the department.

(4) (a) On a conviction referred to in subsection (1) of a person who holds a commercial driver's license or who is required to hold a commercial driver's license, a court may not take any action, including deferring imposition of judgment, that would prevent a conviction for any violation of a state or local traffic control law or ordinance, except a parking law or ordinance, in any type of motor vehicle, from appearing on the person's driving record. The provisions of this subsection (4)(a) apply only to the conviction of a person who holds a commercial driver's license or who is required to hold a commercial driver's license and do not apply to the conviction of a person who holds any other type of driver's license.

(b) For purposes of this subsection (4), "who is required to hold a commercial driver's license" refers to a person who did not have a commercial driver's license but who was operating a commercial motor vehicle at the time of a violation of a state or local traffic control law or ordinance resulting in a conviction referred to in subsection (1).

(5) (a) If a person who holds a valid registry identification card or license issued pursuant to 16-12-203 or 16-12-508 is convicted of or pleads guilty to any offense related to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the initial offense with which the person was charged was a violation of 61-8-1002, the court in which the conviction occurs shall require the person to surrender the registry identification card or license.

(b) Within 5 days after the conviction, the court shall forward the registry identification card and a copy of the conviction to the department of revenue."

Section 5. Section 61-12-501, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-12-501. Authority of department to issue identification cards -- lawful presence verification. (1) The department may issue an identification card to any person who maintains a residence in this state and whose presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.

(2) When an applicant who is not a citizen of the United States applies for an identification card, the department shall verify that the applicant is lawfully present in the United States by using the federal systematic alien verification for entitlements program.

(3) A person may only have one nonvoided driver's license or identification card issued by the department at any time."

Section 6. Section 61-12-504, MCA, is amended to read:

"61-12-504. Fees for identification cards -- expiration of cards. (1) Upon application for an identification card issued pursuant to this part, a fee of $16 of $16 must be collected and deposited in the general fund, except that the fee for a card issued under subsection (3)(b) is $8.

(2) A person with a disability, as defined in 39-30-103, may obtain a free identification card. An individual discharged from any correctional facility must be furnished a free identification card upon release, discharge, or parole.

(3) (a) Except as provided in subsections (3)(b) and (3)(c), an An identification card expires on the anniversary of the cardholder's date of birth 8 years after the date of issue.

(b) An identification card issued to a person who is under 21 years of age expires on the anniversary of the cardholder's date of birth 4 years after the card's issue date.

(c)(b) An identification card issued to a person whose presence in the United States is temporarily authorized under federal laws expires, as determined by the department, no later than the expiration date of the official document issued to the person by the United States citizenship and immigration services of the department of homeland security that authorizes the person's presence in the United States."