Bill Text: NY A01093 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Establishes optional pilot programs for the county of Westchester, for local police departments to use electronic scanning devices to determine whether or not the operator of a vehicle was using a mobile phone or portable electronic device near the time of an accident or collision.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to transportation [A01093 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A01093-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1093

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 7, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PAULIN, BYRNE -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to  creating  a
          pilot  program  for the field testing of mobile telephones or portable
          electronic devices by local police departments in Westchester  county;
          and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there-
          of

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 1225-e to read as follows:
     3    §  1225-e.  Pilot  program  for field testing of mobile telephones and
     4  portable electronic devices. 1. Purpose. For the county of  Westchester,
     5  the commissioner shall authorize a two year pilot program for such coun-
     6  ty to allow local police departments to field test mobile telephones and
     7  portable electronic devices following an accident or collision involving
     8  damage  to  real  or  personal  property, personal injury or death.  The
     9  commissioner shall not require any police department to  participate  in
    10  such program.
    11    2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
    12    (a)  "Field  testing"  shall  mean  the  use of an electronic scanning
    13  device:
    14    (1) approved and utilized in accordance with rules jointly promulgated
    15  by the commissioner and the commissioner of criminal justice services;
    16    (2) approved and certified for use by Westchester county;
    17    (3) used only to scan the log records on the mobile telephone or port-
    18  able electronic device of the operator of the motor vehicle to determine
    19  whether or not the operator of a motor vehicle was using a mobile  tele-
    20  phone  or  a  portable  electronic device in violation of section twelve
    21  hundred twenty-five-c or twelve hundred twenty-five-d of  this  article,
    22  provided,  however, that such use of an electronic scanning device shall

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02055-01-1
        A. 1093                             2

     1  be limited to a search of log records that have been activated by typing
     2  or swiping actions on a mobile telephone or electronic  portable  device
     3  in  the  prior  sixty  minutes  in determining whether the operator of a
     4  motor vehicle was using a mobile telephone or portable electronic device
     5  in  violation of either such section at or near the time of the accident
     6  or collision which provides the grounds for such testing.  No such elec-
     7  tronic scan shall access, collect or store user data or the  content  or
     8  origin  of  any  communication or game conducted, or image or electronic
     9  data viewed, on a mobile telephone or portable electronic device.
    10    (b) "Log records" shall mean the log records of keyboard usage, activ-
    11  ity logs and applications logs for mobile telephones and portable  elec-
    12  tronic  devices.  For  the  purposes  of this section, log records shall
    13  include only log records which have been activated by typing or  swiping
    14  a  mobile telephone or portable electronic device, and shall not include
    15  any log records that were activated by  Bluetooth  or  voice  activation
    16  technology.
    17    (c)  "Mobile  telephone"  shall  mean a mobile telephone as defined in
    18  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c
    19  of this article.
    20    (d) "Portable electronic device"  shall  mean  a  portable  electronic
    21  device  as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section twelve
    22  hundred twenty-five-d of this article.
    23    (e) "User data" shall mean  text  messages,  contacts,  call  history,
    24  pictures,  videos,  files,  contents  of databases, contents of applica-
    25  tions, names of applications or deleted data.
    26    (f) "Using" shall mean:
    27    (1) for the purposes of mobile telephones, as defined in paragraph (c)
    28  of subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c of this arti-
    29  cle; and
    30    (2) for the purposes of portable electronic  devices,  as  defined  in
    31  paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section twelve hundred twenty-five-d
    32  of this article.
    33    3.  Scope of field testing. (a) Every person operating a motor vehicle
    34  which has been involved in an accident or collision involving damage  to
    35  real  or personal property, personal injury or death, and who has in his
    36  or her possession at or near the time of such accident or  collision,  a
    37  mobile  telephone or personal electronic device, shall at the request of
    38  a police officer, submit his or her  mobile  telephone  and/or  portable
    39  electronic  device to the police officer solely for the purpose of field
    40  testing such mobile telephone and/or portable electronic device. If such
    41  field testing determines that the operator  of  the  motor  vehicle  was
    42  using  his  or  her  mobile  telephone  or portable electronic device in
    43  violation of section twelve  hundred  twenty-five-c  or  twelve  hundred
    44  twenty-five-d of this article, the results of such testing shall consti-
    45  tute evidence of any such violation.
    46    (b)  The department, Westchester county and any police departments and
    47  their respective agents participating in the pilot program authorized by
    48  this section may store log records collected during electronic scans and
    49  use such log records only to determine the accuracy of field testing and
    50  the prevalence of violations of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c  or
    51  twelve  hundred  twenty-five-d  of  this  article.  No  user data may be
    52  collected or stored by the department, Westchester county or any  police
    53  departments  or  their  respective  agents  participating  in  the pilot
    54  program authorized by this section.
    55    4. Report. At the conclusion of such pilot program,  the  commissioner
    56  in consultation with the commissioner of criminal justice services shall
        A. 1093                             3

     1  assess the program and submit a report to the legislature and the gover-
     2  nor,  which  shall  include,  but  not  be limited to, the impact of the
     3  program on reducing traffic accidents, the amount of phones tested,  and
     4  data analyzing the cost, efficiency, and accuracy of the field testing.
     5    5. Participation. Participation in the pilot program for the county of
     6  Westchester  shall  be  optional and subject to participation guidelines
     7  established by the commissioner.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
     9  have  become  a  law  and  shall expire and be deemed repealed two years
    10  after such date.