Bill Text: MI SB0403 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Traffic control; driver license; examination regarding existence of certain medical condition affecting applicant's ability to operate safely; revise and clarify. Amends sec. 309 of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.309). TIE BAR WITH: SB 0402'11
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-12-27 - Assigned Pa 0355'12 With Immediate Effect [SB0403 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-SB0403-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 403
June 1, 2011, Introduced by Senator SCHUITMAKER and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending section 309 (MCL 257.309), as amended by 2004 PA 362.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 309. (1) Before issuing a license, the secretary of state
shall examine each applicant for an operator's or chauffeur's
license who at the time of the application is not the holder of a
valid, unrevoked operator's or chauffeur's license under a law of
this state providing for the licensing of drivers. In all other
cases, the secretary of state may waive the examination, except
that an examination shall not be waived if it appears from the
application, from the apparent physical or mental condition of the
applicant,
or from any other information which that has come to the
secretary of state from another source, that the applicant does not
possess the physical, mental, or other qualifications necessary to
operate a motor vehicle in a manner as not to jeopardize the safety
of
persons or property, ; or that the applicant is not entitled to
a license under section 303. A licensee who applies for the renewal
of his or her license by mail pursuant to section 307 shall certify
to his or her physical capability to operate a motor vehicle. The
secretary of state may check the applicant's driving record through
the national driver register and the commercial driver license
information system before issuing a license under this section.
(2) The secretary of state may appoint sheriffs, their
deputies, the chiefs of police of cities and villages having
organized police departments within this state, their duly
authorized representatives, or employees of the secretary of state
as examining officers for the purpose of examining applicants for
operator's and chauffeur's licenses. An examining officer shall
conduct examinations of applicants for operator's and chauffeur's
licenses in accordance with this chapter and the rules promulgated
by the secretary of state under subsection (3). After conducting an
examination an examining officer shall make a written report of his
or her findings and recommendations to the secretary of state.
(3) The secretary of state shall promulgate rules pursuant to
the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201
to 24.328, for the examination of the applicant's physical and
mental qualifications to operate a motor vehicle in a manner as not
to jeopardize the safety of persons or property, and shall
ascertain whether facts exist that would bar the issuance of a
license under section 303. The secretary of state may consider a
written medical report and recommendation submitted under section
5139 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.5139, from the
personal physician of an applicant, in making the examination
regarding the applicant's physical and mental qualifications to
operate a motor vehicle under this section and R 257.851 to R
257.855 of the Michigan administrative code. A report received by
the secretary of state from a physician under this section is
confidential. The secretary of state shall also ascertain whether
the applicant has sufficient knowledge of the English language to
understand highway warnings or direction signs written in that
language. The examination shall not include investigation of facts
other than those facts directly pertaining to the ability of the
applicant to operate a motor vehicle with safety or facts declared
to be prerequisite to the issuance of a license under this act.
(4) The secretary of state shall not issue an original
operator's or chauffeur's license without a vehicle group
designation or indorsement without an examination that includes a
driving skills test conducted by the secretary of state or by a
designated examining officer under subsection (2) or section 310e.
The secretary of state may enter into an agreement with another
public or private corporation or agency to conduct a driving skills
test conducted under this section. 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. In an agreement with another public or private
corporation or agency to conduct a driving skills test, the
secretary of state shall prescribe the method and examination
criteria to be followed by the corporation, agency, or examiner
when conducting the driving skills test and the form of the
certification to be issued to a person who satisfactorily completes
a driving skills test. An original vehicle group designation or
indorsement shall not be issued by the secretary of state without a
knowledge test conducted by the secretary of state. Except as
provided in section 312f(1), an original vehicle group designation
or passenger or school bus indorsement shall not be issued by the
secretary of state without a driving skills test conducted by an
examiner appointed or authorized by the secretary of state.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the secretary of
state may waive the requirement of a driving skills test, knowledge
test, or road sign test of an applicant for an original operator's
or chauffeur's license without a vehicle group designation or
indorsement who at the time of the application is the holder of a
valid, unrevoked operator's or chauffeur's license issued by
another state or country.
(6) A driving skills test conducted under this section shall
include a behind-the-wheel road test. A behind-the-wheel road test
for an original vehicle group designation or passenger indorsement
shall not be conducted unless the applicant has been issued a
temporary instruction permit.
(7) A person who corrupts or attempts to corrupt a designated
examining officer appointed or designated by the secretary of state
under this section or section 310e by giving, offering, or
promising any gift or gratuity with the intent to influence the
opinion or decision of the examining officer conducting the test is
guilty of a felony.
(8) A designated examining officer appointed or designated by
the secretary of state who conducts a driving skills test under an
agreement entered into under this section or section 310e and who
varies from, shortens, or in any other way changes the method or
examination criteria prescribed in that agreement in conducting a
driving skills test is guilty of a felony.
(9) A person who forges, counterfeits, or alters a
satisfactorily completed driving skills test certification issued
by a designated examining officer appointed or designated by the
secretary of state under this section or section 310e is guilty of
a felony.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No. 402
of the 96th Legislature is enacted into law.
