168.381 Manufacture of vehicle license plates; 
  appropriations. 

    Subdivision 1.    Correctional facilities; other 
 manufacturers.  (a) License number plates required by law may 
 be manufactured by the Minnesota correctional facility-St. 
 Cloud, the Minnesota correctional facility-Stillwater, or other 
 facility established by law for the confinement of persons 
 convicted of felony, upon order from the registrar of motor 
 vehicles.  The order must state the quality of material desired 
 in the plates, the plate specifications, and the amount or 
 number desired.  

    (b) Should the commissioner of corrections decide not to 
 supply the required quantity of license plates, or discontinue 
 the manufacture of plates, the commissioner of public safety is 
 authorized to seek other suppliers on a competitive basis.  

    Subd. 2.    Laboratory testing; costs.  (a) Materials 
 purchased to be used in the manufacture of motor vehicle number 
 plates must be tested as to conformance with specifications 
 established by the commissioner of public safety in a privately 
 operated laboratory service to be designated by the 
 commissioner.  The cost of the laboratory must be included in 
 the cost of materials purchased.  

    (b) The cost of delivery of number plates to the 
 commissioner of public safety at places designated by the 
 commissioner must be included in the expenses incurred in their 
 manufacture.  

    Subd. 3.    Specifications.  The commissioner of public 
 safety shall establish new or revised specifications for the 
 material and equipment used in the manufacture of number plates 
 ordered for manufacture after August 1, 1975, and may from time 
 to time revise the specifications; provided that the 
 specifications conform to the requirements of section 168.12.  
 In establishing new or revised specifications, the commissioner 
 shall consult with and give consideration to the advice and 
 recommendations of representatives of the Minnesota state 
 patrol, local police officers' associations, and the county 
 sheriffs' association.  

    Subd. 4.    Appropriations.  (a) Money appropriated to 
 the department of public safety to procure the plates for any 
 fiscal year or years are available for allotment, encumbrance, 
 and expenditure from and after the date of the enactment of the 
 appropriation.  Materials and equipment used in the manufacture 
 of number plates are subject only to the approval of the 
 commissioner of public safety.  

    (b) This section contemplates that money to be appropriated 
 to the department of public safety in order to carry out the 
 terms and provisions of this section will be appropriated by the 
 legislature from the highway user tax distribution fund. 

    (c) A sum sufficient is appropriated annually from the 
 highway user tax distribution fund to the commissioner of public 
 safety to pay the costs of purchasing, delivering, and mailing 
 motor vehicle license number plates, license plate registration 
 tabs or stickers, and license plate registration notices. 

    HIST: 1957 c 412 s 1,2; 1965 c 158 s 1; 1969 c 1129 art 1 s 
 15; 1973 c 140 s 1; 1975 c 10 s 1; 1979 c 102 s 13; 1981 c 37 s 
 2; 1986 c 444; 1Sp2001 c 8 art 2 s 37