| Summary |
Transportation Legislation Review Committee. For 10 income
tax years, section 1 of the bill creates a refundable income tax credit for
purchasing driver education and training for a minor. The amount of the
credit is the amount spent on driver education and training, but cannot
exceed $1,000 per student. To claim a credit, an individual must provide
the department of revenue (department) with a receipt for the amount paid
if the department requests the receipt.
Currently, a minor who is under 18 years of age may be issued a
driver's license or temporary driver's license if the minor has held an
instruction permit for 12 months and has completed 50 hours of
supervised driving, including 10 hours of night driving. Section 2 adds
the requirements that the applicant must:
•
Complete a 30-hour driver education course, which may
include an online course, approved by the department; and
•
Receive at least 6 hours of behind-the-wheel driving
training with a driving instructor or, for minors who live in
rural areas of the state, 12 hours of behind-the-wheel
training with a parent, a legal guardian, or an alternate
permit supervisor.
Additionally, section 2 eliminates the current instructional
requirements for minors under 16 and one-half years of age to hold an
instruction permit for 12 months, complete 50 hours of supervised
driving, including 10 hours of night driving, and receive 6 hours of
behind-the-wheel driving training with a driving instructor or, if the
minor lives more than 30 miles from a business offering driving
instruction, at least 12 hours of training from a parent, legal guardian, or
responsible adult to be eligible for issuance of a driver's license.
Section 2 also adds a requirement that a minor who is 18 years of
age or older and under 21 years of age must successfully complete a
4-hour prequalification driver awareness program approved by the
department to be issued a driver's license or temporary driver's license.
Current law authorizes the department to issue an instruction
permit to a minor if the minor meets one of the following conditions:
•
A minor who is 16 years of age or older need not complete
a driver education course;
•
A minor who is at least 15 and one-half years of age but
under 16 years of age must have completed a driver
education course or a 4-hour driver awareness course; or
•
A minor who is 15 years of age or older but under 15 and
one-half years of age must have completed a driver
education course.
Sections 2 and 3 eliminate the tiered system and require all minors
who are under 18 years of age to complete a 30-hour driver education
course and minors who are 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of
age to complete a 4-hour driver awareness course.
Section 5 prohibits a person who has been convicted of certain
violent or sexual crimes from providing behind-the-wheel driving
instruction to minors. A commercial driving school is prohibited from
employing such a driving instructor to provide behind-the-wheel driving
instruction to minors. Each instructor employed by a commercial driving
school must obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history record check to
verify that the instructor has not committed a disqualifying crime.
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