HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4203 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two branches with reference to the Senate amendment (striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the text contained in Senate document numbered 2250) of the House Bill requiring the hands-free use of mobile telephones while driving (House, No. 3793, amended), reports recommending passage of the accompanying bill (House, No. 4203) November 18, 2019. William M. Straus Joseph F. Wagner Timothy R. Whelan Joseph A. Boncore William N. Brownsberger Dean A. Tran 1 of 10 FILED ON: 11/18/2019 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4203 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court (2019-2020) _______________ An Act requiring the hands-free use of mobile telephones while driving. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 2 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Hands-free mobile 3 telephone” the following definition:- 4 “Hands-free mode”, operation of a mobile electronic device by which a user engages in a 5 voice communication or receives audio without touching or holding the device; provided, 6 however, that a mobile electronic device may require a single tap or swipe to activate, deactivate 7 or initiate the hands-free mode feature. 8 SECTION 2. Section 7B of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 9 striking out, in line 172, the word “telephone” and inserting in place thereof the following 10 11 12 words:- electronic device. SECTION 3. Section 8M of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “shall”, in line 1, the following words:- hold in their hand or. 2 of 10 13 SECTION 4. Said section 8M of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further 14 amended by inserting after the word “travel”, in line 6, the following words:- by a motor vehicle 15 or bicycle. 16 SECTION 5. Said section 8M of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further 17 amended by striking out the fourth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 18 paragraph:- 19 A first or second offense under this section shall not be a surchargeable incident under 20 section 113B of chapter 175 or under a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in section 34A 21 that is issued pursuant to said chapter 175; provided, however, that a third or subsequent offense 22 under this section shall be a surchargeable incident under said section 113B of said chapter 175 23 or under a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in said section 34A that is issued pursuant to 24 said chapter 175. 25 SECTION 6. The second paragraph of subsection (a) of section 12A of said chapter 90, 26 as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place 27 thereof the following sentence:- A violation of this section occurring on a way intended for 28 motor vehicles shall be a surchargeable incident under section 113B of chapter 175 or under a 29 motor vehicle liability policy as defined in section 34A that is issued pursuant to said chapter 30 175. 31 SECTION 7. Section 13 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by 32 striking out, in line 4, the word “operator” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- 33 operated. 3 of 10 34 SECTION 8. Said section 13 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further 35 amended by striking out, in line 6, the word “telephone” and inserting in place thereof the 36 following words:- electronic device. 37 38 SECTION 9. Said chapter 90 is hereby further amended by striking out section 13B, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 39 Section 13B. (a) No operator of a motor vehicle shall hold a mobile electronic device. 40 No operator of a motor vehicle shall use a mobile electronic device unless the device is being 41 used in hands-free mode. No operator of a motor vehicle shall read or view text, images or video 42 displayed on a mobile electronic device; provided, however, that an operator may view a map 43 generated by a navigation system or application on a mobile electronic device that is mounted on 44 or affixed to a vehicle’s windshield, dashboard or center console in a manner that does not 45 impede the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an operator shall not 46 be considered to be operating a motor vehicle if the vehicle is stationary and not located in a part 47 of the public way intended for travel by a motor vehicle or bicycle. 48 (b) Evidence that the use of a mobile electronic device was in response to an emergency 49 shall be an affirmative defense to an alleged violation of this section. For the purposes of this 50 section, an emergency shall mean that the operator needed to report that: (i) the vehicle was 51 disabled; (ii) medical attention or assistance was required; (iii) police intervention, fire 52 department or other emergency services were necessary for the personal safety of the operator or 53 a passenger or to otherwise ensure the safety of the public; or (iv) a disabled vehicle or an 54 accident was present on a roadway. 4 of 10 55 (c) This section shall not apply to public safety personnel or emergency first responders 56 using a mobile electronic device while operating an emergency services vehicle and engaged in 57 the performance of their duties. 58 (d) A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $100 for a first offense, by 59 a fine of $250 for a second offense and by a fine of $500 for a third or subsequent offense. In 60 addition to any fines pursuant to this subsection, an operator who commits a second or 61 subsequent offense under this section or section 8M shall be required to complete a program 62 selected by the registrar of motor vehicles that encourages a change in driver behavior and 63 attitude about distracted driving. Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the seizure or 64 forfeiture of a hands-free mobile telephone or a mobile electronic device. 65 (e) A first or second offense under this section or section 8M shall not be a surchargeable 66 incident under section 113B of chapter 175 or under a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in 67 section 34A that is issued pursuant to said chapter 175; provided, however, that a third or 68 subsequent offense under this section or section 8M shall be a surchargeable incident under said 69 section 113B of said chapter 175 or under a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in said 70 section 34A that is issued pursuant to said chapter 175. 71 72 SECTION 10. Said chapter 90 is hereby further amended by adding the following section:- 73 Section 63. 74 (a) The registry of motor vehicles shall collect data from any issued Massachusetts 75 Uniform Citation regarding the following information: (i) identifying characteristics of the 76 individuals who receive a warning or citation or who are arrested, including the age, race and 5 of 10 77 gender of the individual; (ii) the traffic infraction; (iii) the date and time of the offense and the 78 municipality in which the offense was committed; (iv) whether a search was initiated as a result 79 of the stop; and (v) whether the stop resulted in a warning, citation or arrest. The registry of 80 motor vehicles shall maintain statistical information on the data required by this section and shall 81 report that information annually to the secretary of public safety and security. 82 (b) Data or information collected, transmitted or received under this section shall be used 83 only for statistical purposes and shall not contain information that may reveal the identity of any 84 individual who is stopped or any law enforcement officer. 85 (c) The secretary of public safety and security shall maintain a standardized process to 86 facilitate data collection for law enforcement agencies and procedures for law enforcement 87 officials to collect data under this section. The failure of a law enforcement officer to collect 88 such data shall not affect the validity of the underlying stop. 89 (d) Annually, the secretary of public safety and security shall transmit the necessary data 90 collected by the registry of motor vehicles to a university, non-profit organization or institution, 91 whether private or public, in the commonwealth with experience in the analysis of such data for 92 annual preparation of an analysis and report of its findings. Upon receipt, the secretary shall 93 immediately make the annual analysis and report, including any aggregate analysis of the data, 94 publicly available by publishing such annual analysis and report online and shall transmit a copy 95 of such annual analysis and report to the attorney general, the department of state police, the 96 Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association Incorporated, and the clerks of the house of 97 representatives and the senate. The secretary shall, in consultation with the attorney general, if 98 such annual analysis and report suggest that a law enforcement agency appears to have engaged 6 of 10 99 in racial or gender profiling: (i) require the law enforcement agency for a period of 1 year to 100 collect information, including the reason for the stop, in addition to the other information already 101 required under the Massachusetts Uniform Citation, on all traffic stops, including those not 102 resulting in a warning, citation or arrest; and (ii) mandate implicit bias training using best 103 practices. 104 (e) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, data collected, transmitted 105 or received pursuant to subsections (a) and (d) shall be stored in a properly secured system in a 106 cryptographically encrypted form and shall only be provided upon the execution of a written 107 confidentiality agreement with the secretary of public safety and security that is protective of 108 privacy and prohibits the further distribution of the data; provided, however, that nothing in the 109 confidentiality agreement shall prohibit the publication of aggregate analysis of the data. 110 Unencrypted data shall not be accessed, copied or otherwise communicated without the active 111 concurrence and the express written approval of the secretary. Any processing of the data 112 collected or received pursuant to this section shall only result in aggregated information that does 113 not reveal the identity of any person or law enforcement officer. 114 (f) The secretary of public safety and security shall publish an annual public report, 115 derived from the data used for the annual analysis and report prepared under subsection (d), 116 containing aggregate numbers, listed by municipality and law enforcement agency, for the 117 information categories identified in subsection (a); provided, however, that data concerning age 118 shall be aggregated into categories for persons aged 29 and younger and aged 30 and older; 119 provided further, that data concerning time of day shall be aggregated into categories for 120 offenses committed from 12:01 am to 6:00 am, from 6:01 am to 12:00 pm, from 12:01 pm to 121 6:00 pm and from 6:01 pm to 12:00 am. The secretary shall take reasonable steps to ensure that 7 of 10 122 any information in the report cannot be used, directly or indirectly, either alone or together with 123 other information, to identify or derive information about any stop made by a particular law 124 enforcement officer or any individual involved in a stop made by a law enforcement officer. The 125 secretary shall make the information contained in the report available to the public online in 126 machine readable format. 127 (g) Not later than 30 days following the date on which the annual analysis and report 128 under subsection (d) is received by the secretary of public safety and security, the secretary shall 129 hold not fewer than 3 public hearings in different regions of the commonwealth to present the 130 annual analysis and report and to accept public testimony regarding the report. The executive 131 office of public safety and security shall provide the public with not less than 14 days prior 132 notice of each hearing by publishing the hearing date on the executive office’s website and any 133 official social media accounts and by providing written notice to the joint committee on public 134 safety and security, the joint committee on the judiciary and the clerks of the house of 135 representatives and the senate. 136 SECTION 11. Section 2A of chapter 90C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 137 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the words “chapter 228 of the acts 138 of 2000” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- section 63 of chapter 90. 139 140 141 142 SECTION 12. Sections 8 to 10, inclusive, of chapter 228 of the acts of 2000 are hereby repealed. SECTION 13. Chapter 155 of the acts of 2010 is hereby amended by striking out section 14 and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 8 of 10 143 Section 14. The registrar of motor vehicles, in cooperation with the highway safety 144 division, the department of elementary and secondary education, the department of higher 145 education and municipal law enforcement, shall develop and implement an annual public 146 awareness campaign for junior and adult operators. The campaign shall include, but not be 147 limited to, the dangers and consequences of distracted driving, information on the restrictions of 148 mobile telephone and mobile electronic device use while operating a motor vehicle under 149 sections 8M, 12A, 13 and 13B of chapter 90 of the General Laws, information on the fines and 150 punishments that may be imposed for violations of said chapter 90 and bicycle safety. The 151 registrar of motor vehicles shall include information on the hazards of distracted driving in each 152 revised publication of the driver’s manual. 153 SECTION 14. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary 154 of public safety and security shall investigate and study alternative methods for collecting more 155 accurate data pursuant to section 63 of chapter 90 of the General Laws. The study shall include, 156 but not be limited to, the feasibility of expanding the data collected pursuant to subsection (a) of 157 said section 63 of said chapter 90, including expansion of the data collection to include the race 158 and gender of each individual subject to traffic stops, searches resulting from a traffic stop or 159 frisks resulting from a traffic stop, whether or not a Massachusetts Uniform Citation was issued. 160 The secretary shall file a report with the results of the investigation and study together with 161 legislation, if any, with the joint committee on transportation not later than April 1, 2020. 162 SECTION 15. This act shall take effect 90 days after passage; provided, however, that 163 notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, an operator of a motor vehicle shall 164 be issued a warning for a first violation of section 13B of chapter 90 of the General Laws for 9 of 10 165 conduct other than the typing or reading of an electronic message occurring after the effective 166 date of this act until March 31, 2020, inclusive. 10 of 10