Lead Opinion
At issuе is whether the chemical 1,1-difluoroethane (DFE) is a hazardous substance under Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9 (2016). On three occasions, appellant Chantel Lynn Carson was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired (DWI), and an analysis of her blood showed the presence of DFE. Carson was convicted of three counts of third-degree DWI for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a hazardous substance. The court of appeals affirmed her convictions. We hold that DFE is not a hazardous substance under Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9, because it is not “listed as a hazardous substance in” Minn. R. ch. 5206 (2015). We therefore reverse the decision of the court of appeals.
FACTS
The facts are not in dispute. On November 16, 2014, officers responded to a call that a driver at a drive-thru of a restaurant apрeared to be intoxicated. Officers found Carson parked at the drive-thru and passed out with a can of Dust-Off between her right arm and body.
One week later, officers found Carson slumped over the center console of her running car. She responded after several attempts to wake her. Carson’s eyes were “watery and bloodshot,” and her face was “sweaty and pale.” She was “lethargic”; her “speech was slurred”; and her left hand involuntarily twitched. The police found three cans of Dust-Off in the car.
Several months later, officers received three reports over the course of 2 hours describing a slumped driver at different
On each of thesе three occasions, Carson was placed under arrest on suspicion of DWI. The police obtained blood samples from Carson on the first two occasions, and a urine sample on the third occasion. Subsequent analysis revealed the presence of DFE and clonazepam.
In three separate cases, respondent State of Minnesota charged Cаrson with two counts of third-degree DWI, Minn. Stat. §§ 169A.20, subd. l(2)-(3), 169A.26 (2016) — one for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a hazardous substance and one for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance. Carson filed a motion to dismiss the hazardous-substance DWI charges because she claimed, in part, that there was insufficient evidence that she wаs under the influence of a “hazardous substance” as defined in Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9.
During a contested omnibus hearing, a forensic scientist testified that DFE is “a propellant commonly seen in cans ... usually found in products used to clean keyboards on computers.” The scientist explained:
[DFE] is commonly seen in a product called Dust-Off. It is commonly abused as an inhalant simply because it is easy to obtain and you don’t need to be a particular age to acquire it or purchase it, and it will produce a pretty rapid high, as well.
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The abuse comes from inhaling, whether it be through a small tube ... or ... a bag that is held over the nose and mouth of the person....
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It is flammable.... [T]he can is under pressure so there is a hazard....
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If it is inhaled ... it can [cause injury].
The district court found that the characteristics of DFE made it a hazardous substance under the DWI statutes arjd denied Carson’s motion to dismiss. Carson then waived her right to a jury trial and other trial rights, and the parties agreed to a stipulated-facts trial under Minn. R. Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 4, on the hazardous-substance DWI counts. The State agreed to dismiss the controlled-substance DWI counts. The district court found Carson guilty of three counts of third-degree DWI.
The court of appeals affirmed Carson’s convictions, holding that DFE is a hаzardous substance under the DWI statutes. State v. Carson,
ANALYSIS
At issue is whether DFE is a hazardous substance under the definition provided in Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9, We review statutory interpretation questions de novo. Christianson v. Henke,
In Minnesota, it is a crime to drive, operate, or be in physical control of a
The Commissioner of Labor and Industry promulgated the occupational safety and health rules in Minn. R. ch. 5206 in accordance with Minn. Stat. ch. 182 (2016). See Minn. Stat. § 182.655. These rules define “hazardous substance” to include the following:
“Hazardous substance” means a chemical or substance, or mixture of chemicals or substances, which:
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B. is either toxic or highly toxic, an irritant, corrosive, a strong oxidizer, a strong sensitizer, combustible, either flammable or extremely flammable, dangerously reactive, pyrophoric, pressure-generating, a compressed gas, a carcinogen, a teratogen, a mutagen, a reproductive toxic agent, or that otherwise, according to generally accepted documented medical or scientific evidence, may cause substantial acute or chronic personal injury or illness during or as a direct result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable , accidental or inten-
tional exposure to the chemical or substance; ....
Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B).
Chapter 5206 contains a specific rule on hazardous, substances, which includes a “[l]ist of hazardous substances” in alphabetical order. See Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5. Rule 5206.0400 also states: “The hazardous substance list includes the majority of hazardous substances that will be encountered in Minnesota; it does not include all'hazardous substances and'mil not always be current.” Id., subp. 1 (emphasis added). '
To determine what it means for a chemical or chemical compound to be “listed аs a hazardous substance in rules adopted under chapter 182,” Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9 (emphasis added), the parties point to different portions of Minn. R. ch. 5206, the rules adopted under chapter 182. Carson contends that Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5, is the only list of hazardous substances in the applicable rules, and that this list does not include DFÉ.
The State argues that Minn. R. 5206.0400 acknowledges that the list of hazardous substances in. subpart 5 of the rule is “illustrative” and “does not include all hazardous substances.” As a result, the State contends that Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B), contains “a list of characteristics which, if possessed, would make a chemical or substance or a mixture ... a hazardous substance.” According to the State, DFE meets the definition of a hazardous substance under Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9, because it “possesses a
Nоthing in Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9 tells us what it means “to be listed,” so we look to dictionary definitions to determine the plain meaning of words. Larson v. Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co.,
The State argues that Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B), the definitions section of Minn. R. ch. 5206, also contains a “list” describing the relevant characteristics of hazardous substances. We disagree. In interpreting- a particular statutory provision, wé read the provision “in context with other provisions of the same statute.” ILHC of Eagan, LLC v. Cty. of Dakota,
The State and the dissent further argue that the Legislature intended subdivision 9 of, section 169A.03 to encompass not only all • the hazardous substances listed in Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5, but also apy chemical thаt would be defined as a hazardous substance by Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B). According to the dissent, the definition of hazardous, substance in Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B), amounts to a list because it “is a list, of characteristics, any one of which makes-a substance hazardous.” A list and a definition are not the same thing. Compare New Oxford American Dictionary 1019 (defining a “list” as “a
If the Legislature had wanted to criminalize the operation of a motor vehicle while knowingly under the influence of any substance that meets the definition of a hazardous substance for purposes of the occupational safety and health rules, it knew how to dо so and could have done so explicitly by using a phrase like “has the meaning given.” The statutory language plainly demonstrates that the types of hazardous substances that can give rise to a driving-while-impaired conviction are limited to those substances specifically listed in Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5.
We acknowledge that based on our holding today, a driver dangerously intoxicated by DFE is not criminally liable under the plain language of the current DWI statutes. The dissent argues that the Legislature could not have intended this outcome. In other words, the dissent concludes that the Legislature could not have intended to criminalize the operation of a motor vehicle while the driver is knowingly under the influence of only those chemical compounds that are explicitly listed as hazardous substances under the occupational health and safety rules. But “[tjhis public policy concern should be directed to the Legislature because we must read this state’s laws as they are, not as some argue they should be.” Axelberg v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the decision of the court of apрeals and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed.
Notes
. The police used different terms to refer to the cans of compressed air found in Carson’s car on each occasion. We refer to the cans as Dust-Off for consistency.
. Minnesota Rule 5206.0100, subp. 7, contains two other definitions of hazardous substance, Minn, R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(A) (defining hazardous substance as a chemical, substance, or mixture that is regulated under the Code of Federal Regulations); id., subp. 7(C) (defining hazardous substance as a chemical, substance, or mixture that the Commissioner of Labor and Industry has determined “presentís] a significant risk to workerhealth and safety or imminent danger of death or serious physical harm to an employee as a result of foreseeable use, handling, accidental spill, exposure, ór Contamination”). It is undisputed that DFE does not fit under either of those definitions.
. The dissent alleges that our holding mistakenly relies on the phrase "has the meaning given,” because “each time section 169A.03 uses the phrase 'has the meaning given,’ it refers to a definition contained in a statute,” rather than — as the case here — a definition "in rules adopted under chapter 182.'\ This, however, is a distinction without a difference. The Legislature has used the phrase "has the meaning given” when it intends to adopt a definition from another source and apply it to a statute in Minn. Stat. ch. 169A. The fact that the source of the definition is a statute, and not a rule, does not matter in determining whether the Legislature intended “has the meaning given” and "listed” to have the same meaning.
Dissenting Opinion
DISSENT
(dissenting).
Thrеe times in 3 months, police found respondent Chantel Lynn Carson passed out in her ear. Each time, testing revealed that Carson had been driving after using cans of Dust-Off to ingest the chemical 1,1-difluoroethane (DFE).
It is illegal to drive a car while knowingly under the influence of a hazardous substance that substantially impairs one’s ability to drive. Minn. Stat. § 169A.20, subd. 1(3) (2016). A hazardous substance is “any chemical or chemical compound that is listed as a hazardous substance in rules adopted under chapter 182 (occupational safety and health).” Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd, 9 (emphasis added).
Two rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry are relevant to determining whether DFE is “listed as
“Hazardous substance” means a chemical or substance, or mixture of chemicals or substances, which:
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B. is either toxic or highly toxic, an irritant, corrosive, a strong oxidizer, a strong sensitizer, combustible, either flammable or extremely flammable, dangеrously reactive, pyrophoric, pressure-generating, a compressed" gas, a carcinogen, a teratogen, a mutagen, a reproductive toxic agent, or that otherwise, according to generally accepted documented medical or scientific evidence, may cause substantial acute or chronic personal injury or illness during or as a direсt result of any customary or reasonably foreseeable accidental or intentional exposure to the chemical or substance; ....
Second, Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5, lists hundreds of chemicals that are hazardous substances. DFE does not appear on this list. Rule 5206.0400 further states, “[t]he hazardous substance list includes the majority of hazardous substances that will be encountered in Minnesota; it does not include all hazardous substances and will not always be current.” Id., subp. 1.
DFE “is listed as a hazardous substance,” Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9, under Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B). I agree with the court that to be “listed” means to be included or incorporated in a list, and a “list” is a series or number of connected names, words, or other items written or printed one after another. See, e.g., The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1024 (5th ed. 2011) (defining the verb “list” as “[t]o make a list of; itemize,” and defining the noun “list” as a “series of names, words, or other items written, printed, or imagined one after the other”). Minnesota Rule 5206.0100, subpart 7(B), is a list of characteristics, any one of which makes a substance hazardous. DFE has several of those characteristics.
The .court disagrees, concluding that when section 169A.03 adopts the definition of a term from another source, it uses the phrase “has the meaning given,” rather than the word “listed.” Thus, the court reasons, Minn. Stat. § 169A.03, subd. 9, cannot refer to the definition of “hazardous substance” in Minn. R. 5206.0100, subpart 7(B), because it uses the word “listed” rather than the phrase “has the meaning given.” But each time section 169A.03 uses the phrase “has the meaning given,” it refers to a definition contained in a statute. By contrast, subdivision 9 of section 169A.03 defines “hazardous substance” as “any chemical or chemical compound that is listed as a hazardous substance in rules adopted under chapter 182.” (Emphasis added).
The court’s heavy reliance on the phrase “has the meaning given” is misplaced. I agree that the Legislature meant for its definition of “hazardous substance” to include, at least, the specific hazardous substances listed in Minn. R. 5206.0400, subp. 5. Subpart 5 of Rule 5206.0400 is an enumerated list; it would be strange to refer
My interpretation also accords with other parts of the hazardous-substances rules. We interpret rules as a whole, viewing their words and sentences in context. Troyer v. Vertlu Mgmt Co.,
. Dust-Off is a refrigerant-based propellant made for cleaning electronic equipment; A forensic scientist testified in Carson’s case that the chemical "is commonly abused as an inhalant simply because it is easy to obtain and you don’t need to be a particular age to acquire it or purchase it, and it will produce a pretty rapid high, as well.”
. The forensic scientist testified that DFE is "flammable,” can cause injury if inhaled, and that “the can is under pressure so there is a hazard.” The Dust-Off can contains warnings consistent with this testimony. In other words, DFE, at a minimum, is "toxic,” "combustible,” "flammable,” "a compressed gas,” and "may cause substantial ... injury or illness.” Minn. R. 5206.0100, subp. 7(B).