Bill Text: MO HB306 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits a person from using a hand-held electronic wireless communications device while operating a motor vehicle within a construction zone with certain exceptions
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-10 - Referred: Crime Prevention and Public Safety (H) [HB306 Detail]
Download: Missouri-2011-HB306-Introduced.html
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES GATSCHENBERGER (Sponsor) AND
KELLEY (126) (Co-sponsor).
0607L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 304, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the use of wireless communications devices in construction and work zones.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 304, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 304.865, to read as follows:
304.865. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person operating a motor vehicle within a construction zone or work zone, as defined in section 304.580, shall use a hand-held electronic wireless communication device.
2. The provisions of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to a person operating:
(1) An authorized emergency vehicle; or
(2) A moving motor vehicle while using a hand-held electronic wireless communications device to:
(a) Report illegal activity;
(b) Summon medical or other emergency help;
(c) Prevent injury to a person or property; or
(d) Relay information between a transit or for-hire operator and that operator's dispatcher, in which the device is permanently affixed to the vehicle.
3. As used in this section, "hand-held electronic wireless communications device" includes any hand-held cellular phone, palm pilot, blackberry, or other mobile electronic device used to communicate verbally or by text or electronic messaging, but shall not apply to any device that is permanently embedded into the architecture and design of the motor vehicle.
4. A violation of this section shall be deemed an infraction and shall be deemed a moving violation for purposes of point assessment under section 302.302.
5. The state preempts the field of regulating the use of hand-held electronic wireless communications devices in motor vehicles, and the provisions of this section shall supercede any local laws, ordinances, orders, rules, or regulations enacted by a county, municipality, or other political subdivision to regulate the use of hand-held electronic wireless communications devices by the operator of a motor vehicle.
6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) The operator of a vehicle that is lawfully parked or stopped;
(2) Any of the following while in the performance of their official duties: a law enforcement officer; a member of a fire department; or the operator of a public or private ambulance;
(3) The use of factory-installed or aftermarket global positioning systems (GPS) or wireless communications devices used to transmit or receive data as part of a digital dispatch system.
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