Summaries of all laws passed by the 2018 Legislature are available online from nonpartisan House Public Information Services at house.mn/newlaws/#/search/2018.
• Residential contractors and insurance adjusters must provide consumers with written notification in the initial home repair estimate that they cannot cover any part of the insurance deductible. Residential contractors — roofers, building contractors and remodelers — who work on insurance claimed properties already cannot build the deductible into their estimates.
• New provisions are added to what should be included in motor vehicle service contracts, including tire or wheel replacement, scratches and dents, windshield cracks or chips caused by road hazards, and key fob replacements. The law also defines what “road hazards” are for insurance purposes.
Consumers
• The so-called “Safe Seniors Act” will give broker dealers and investment advisors the authority to report suspected financial exploitation of seniors. Investment advisors and broker dealers can often see when someone is trying to financially exploit seniors or other vulnerable populations — individuals 65 and older, according to the law, or legally defined as vulnerable — and the act will give them the ability to report the potential threats to the state, followed by giving law enforcement an opportunity to intervene. Abuse-reporters will have protection from liability. The law will allow a broker dealer or investment advisor to freeze seniors’ accounts or delay disbursements if they believe financial exploitation has occurred or will occur.
Family
•
Rights for foster care children have been established, including the
right to be placed with their siblings when possible and to visit their
siblings. Child welfare agency staff will be required to give a copy of
the bill of rights to children upon entry into foster care. The law does
not specify ramifications if the rights are violated.• Foster family license holders and caregivers, and foster residence staff are required to undergo at least one hour of training on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders per year.
• Unmarried parents receive same rights as divorced couples in child custody process. Unmarried parents may file joint petitions for custody, parenting time and child support in family court when all the parties agree on the terms.
• Child care providers will no longer have to publicly post the correction orders handed down from the Department of Human Services. Existing law required licensed family child care providers and child care centers to post a correction order, or order of conditional license, in a visible place in the facility for two years, with some exceptions. Correction orders are already posted online.
Health and human services
• Creditors will no longer be able to target health savings accounts in attempting to collect debts. The law allows protection for up to $25,000 in health or medical savings accounts.
• Certain child care providers are exempted from previously required training that teaches not to use “punishment of any kind” or “[speak] to a person in a manner that ridicules, demeans, threatens or is abusive,” among other things. Licensed child care programs serving children with developmental disabilities or related conditions must follow the child’s individual child care program plan or individualized education program under existing Minnesota law.
Local government
• Towns can provide grants to community food shelves. Cities have been able to provide the grants since 1995; counties since 1998.
Military and veteran affairs
• Existing statute gives qualifying individuals money to further their education after completing military service is clarified. Eligible service members are now entitled to use Minnesota GI Bill benefits of up to $3,000 per state fiscal year and $10,000 in a lifetime for certain tests and courses.
Public safety
• Tougher penalties give law enforcement tools to deal with credit card skimmers by expanding the state’s unauthorized computer access crime to include interference with point-of-sale terminals to collect information from debit, credit or similar cards.
• Loophole in state statute regarding DWI offenses and off-road vehicles is closed. The law expands the prohibition on operating off-road vehicles following a DWI conviction and eliminates an exemption that allowed drivers to keep their licenses following an off-road vehicle DWI offense. Additionally, the law directs the Department of Natural Resources to work with ice fish house manufacturers to increase outreach efforts explaining the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure in ice houses.
• If someone pumps gas and leaves without paying, state law allows the gas station retailers’ association to contact the Department of Public Safety and get private, personal information to track down the individual so they can remit payments for the gas station.
• Procedures for handling a sexual assault examination kit will be laid out in state law that sets consistent terminology, timeframes for kit handling and provides that victims have access to information about their kit.
• Keeping kratom away from minors is one goal of the annual drug scheduling law that also adds new drugs to the controlled substance schedules and contains a DWI-related provision. Kratom is an organic supplement that has been listed as an opioid.
Transportation
• Minnesota’s ‘move over law’ is broadened to require motorists to slow down on streets or highways with only one lane in the motorist’s direction when passing emergency vehicles — and other vehicles like tow trucks, road maintenance and utility vehicles — that are stopped on the side of the roadway with emergency or warning lights activated. If it’s not possible for a driver to move over, drivers are required to reduce the speed of their vehicle to a speed “that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions” until the vehicle has completely passed the parked or stopped vehicle.
• Minnesota motorcycle permit holders will be able to expand their two-wheeled driving education by driving on the interstate.
Full Article & Source:
New state laws effective Aug. 1, 2018
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