Subdivision 1. Auditor or board appointee. The county auditor shall serve as the director of the county license bureau or, if the auditor chooses not to serve, the county board shall appoint any other county officer or employee, or any other person, to serve as the director upon the terms and conditions the county board deems advisable. The county board shall set the compensation of the director and may provide for the expenses of the office including the premium of any bond required to be furnished by the director. The director shall have the powers and duties imposed on the county officer who previously had the authority to issue or process the application for any license referred to in section 373.32.

Notwithstanding section 168.33, subdivision 2, the commissioner of public safety may appoint, and for cause discontinue, the director as the deputy registrar of motor vehicles in the county. If the director is a deputy registrar, all provisions of section 168.33 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 7406, apply to a county license bureau. If the director is a driver's license agent, section 171.061 and rules promulgated thereunder apply to the county license board director.

Subd. 2. Director's duties; no fee retention. The director shall be responsible for all funds in the director's custody as director of the license bureau and shall deposit them in the county treasury, a state depository or forward the funds to the appropriate state official as provided by law or rule or as designated by the county board consistent with applicable statutes and rules. The director or an employee in the bureau may not retain any portion of the fee charged by law or any surcharge upon the license or application. The sole compensation shall be the salary provided by the county board.

History: 1973 c 675 s 4; 1976 c 281 s 3; 1984 c 629 s 1; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 269 s 46; 1995 c 71 s 1; 1997 c 250 s 12