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Volunteer Driver Legislation

Published on 3/5/2020

MAVA is part of the Volunteer Driver Coalition that is working for legislative change to protect the viability of volunteer driver programs in Minnesota. Organizations that provide rides have faced increasing barriers to recruiting and retaining volunteers due to two major factors:

Some auto insurance carriers are increasing insurance rates on volunteer drivers, treating them more like “for-hire” drivers; and
Volunteers must pay income tax on any mileage reimbursement over the low IRS 14 cents/mile rate when the total reimbursement exceeds $600 a year.

We are seeking passage of Minnesota legislation, HF 2377/SF 2324, which will provide these changes to address the barriers individual drivers and organizations face:

Clearly define a volunteer driver in law as not “for-hire.”
Protect volunteer drivers from increased insurance rates.
Create a state income tax subtraction for volunteer drivers to reduce their tax liability in Minnesota.
Cap the liability of nonprofit organizations that offer volunteer driver services at $1.5 million.

It is exciting to see momentum is growing to support volunteer driving in Minnesota from organizations that include MN Council of Nonprofits, MN Association of Townships, Area Agencies on Aging, counties and many volunteer driver programs. A survey by the coalition found that in the past year over 1,900 volunteer drove more than 9.5 million miles to provide over 168,000 rides to more than 77,000 people.

See the resources at http://volunteerdrivermn.org/ if you would like to support volunteer driver legislation. You will find:

A sample template for sending an email to your state legislators.
A commitment form to join the Volunteer Driver Coalition Please feel encouraged to share information in this article with others at your organization.

If you would like more information or to connect further, contact MAVA member Mary Quirk at mary.h.quirk@gmail.com.

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