Agenda Packets - 1985/01/02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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GSGL-4. TOWING OF ABANDONED VEHICLES (B) toclalatian clarifying the authority of cities to Recently, the legislature passed Minnesota Statute 465.75 which prohibits a private vehicle tower from removing a motor vehicle from private property unless he has the permission of the owner of the vehicle or of the owner of the property. While the intent of this statute to prohibit hawkish towing companies from improper towing practices is laudable, the ramifications of the law go too far. Cities are authorized to impound abandoned motor vehicles and Minnesota Statutes 168B.04 provide a detailed process to accomplish the removal of health hazards and eye sores. Unfortunately, the recent legislative act could be construed to prohibit cities from utilizing private towers to remove and impound abandoned or junked automobiles. Cities could be forced to use its own employees and equipment because it is not "in the business of towing." The law should be amended by adding an exclusion for private towers who act at the direction of a city following the procedures prescribed in Minnesota law. GSGL-5. PRECINCT BOUNDARY CHANGES (B) is legislation to provide a more orderly waY in which to a after a legislative reapportionment plan is filed. Current law requires counties to redistrict county commissioner districts within 180 days after receiving final census figures. Cities are not permitted to change precinct boundaries during a five year period ending January 1 in a year ending in two. Therefore, counties following city ward and precinct lines use old boundaries, which to many cases will need to be changed before the 1992 elections. GSGL-6. MANDATES (B) One of the most serious problems facing cities is the growth in the number and cost of federal and state -mandated programs which substitute the judgments of Congress and the State Legislature for local budget priorities. Recent examples of costly mandated programs include comparable worth, employee right to know, legal compliance audits, newspaper publications, among many others. Special bills to address this problem on an ad hoc basis will not provide a permanent or statewide solution to these problems. The League therefore asks the legislature to consider legislation which requires the state to adopt a policy of deliberate restraint on its mandated programs, including a mandatory fiscal note identifying local government costs on any new mandated programs when i -4-