Bill Text: NY S08545 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes optional pilot programs for the county of Westchester and the county of Kings, 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: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-18 - PRINT NUMBER 8545A [S08545 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08545-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8545--A IN SENATE May 9, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MURPHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation -- commit- tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom- mitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to creating pilot programs for the field testing of mobile telephones or portable electronic devices by local police departments in Westchester county and Kings county; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof 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 and the county of Kings, the commissioner shall authorize a two year 6 pilot program for each county to allow local police departments to field 7 test mobile telephones and portable electronic devices. Each county 8 pilot program shall be separate and independent of the other. 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, approved and utilized in accordance with rules jointly promul- 14 gated by the commissioner and the commissioner of criminal justice 15 services, to determine whether or not the operator of a motor vehicle 16 was using a mobile telephone or a portable electronic device in 17 violation of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c or twelve hundred 18 twenty-five-d of this article. Provided, that such use of an electronic 19 scanning device shall be limited to determining whether the operator of 20 a motor vehicle was using a mobile telephone or portable electronic 21 device in violation of either such section at or near the time of the 22 accident or collision which provides the grounds for such testing. 23 Furthermore, no such electronic scan shall include the content or origin EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15754-03-8S. 8545--A 2 1 of any communication or game conducted, or image or electronic data 2 viewed, on a mobile telephone or portable electronic device. 3 (b) "Mobile telephone" shall mean a mobile telephone as defined in 4 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c 5 of this article. 6 (c) "Portable electronic device" shall mean a portable electronic 7 device as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section twelve 8 hundred twenty-five-d of this article. 9 (d) "Using" shall mean: 10 (1) for the purposes of mobile telephones, as defined in paragraph (c) 11 of subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c of this arti- 12 cle; and 13 (2) for the purposes of portable electronic devices, as defined in 14 paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section twelve hundred twenty-five-d 15 of this article. 16 3. Scope of field testing. (a) Every person operating a motor vehicle 17 which has been involved in an accident or collision involving damage to 18 real or personal property, personal injury or death, and who has in his 19 or her possession at or near the time of such accident or collision, a 20 mobile telephone or personal electronic device, shall at the request of 21 a police officer, surrender his or her mobile telephone and/or portable 22 electronic device to the police officer solely for the purpose of field 23 testing such mobile telephone and/or portable electronic device. If such 24 field testing determines that the operator of the motor vehicle was 25 using his or her mobile telephone or portable electronic device in 26 violation of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c or twelve hundred 27 twenty-five-d of this article, the results of such testing shall consti- 28 tute evidence of any such violation. 29 (b) The department shall store data collected during electronic scans 30 and use such data to determine the accuracy of field testing. 31 4. Report. At the conclusion of such pilot program, the commissioner 32 in consultation with the commissioner of criminal justice services shall 33 assess the program and submit a report to the legislature and the gover- 34 nor, which shall include, but not be limited to, the impact of the 35 program on reducing traffic accidents, the amount of phones tested, and 36 data analyzing the cost, efficiency, and accuracy of the field testing. 37 5. Participation. Participation in the pilot programs for the counties 38 of Westchester and Kings shall be optional and subject to participation 39 guidelines established by the commissioner. 40 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 41 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed two years 42 after such date.
