| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4490 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 21, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Transportation, to whom was referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3451) of William M. Straus relative to |
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| 7 | 7 | | further regulating distracted driving, reports recommending that the |
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| 8 | 8 | | accompanying bill (House, No. 4490) ought to pass. |
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| 9 | 9 | | For the committee, |
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| 10 | 10 | | WILLIAM M. STRAUS. 1 of 2 |
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| 11 | 11 | | FILED ON: 2/7/2024 |
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| 12 | 12 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4490 |
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| 13 | 13 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 17 | 17 | | _______________ |
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| 18 | 18 | | An Act relative to the safe operation of motor vehicles. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to |
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| 20 | 20 | | further regulate distracted driving, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, |
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| 21 | 21 | | necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety. |
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| 22 | 22 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 23 | 23 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | 1 SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 13B of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as |
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| 25 | 25 | | 2appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the third sentence |
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| 26 | 26 | | 3the following:- |
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| 27 | 27 | | 4 No operator of a motor vehicle shall record, broadcast, or otherwise capture images or |
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| 28 | 28 | | 5video of themselves. No operator shall wear, hold, or otherwise utilize or interact with a spatial |
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| 29 | 29 | | 6computer, or other augmented reality or mixed reality device, operating system, or three- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 7dimensional user interface. |
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| 31 | 31 | | 8 SECTION 2. Said section 13B of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further |
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| 32 | 32 | | 9amended by inserting after subsection (a) the following subsection:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 10 (a1/2) An operator shall not view video, images or text unrelated to the operation, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 11maintenance, or navigation of the motor vehicle that is displayed on a monitor, screen or other 2 of 2 |
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| 35 | 35 | | 12display installed in the motor vehicle or otherwise worn as a headset or elsewhere on the |
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| 36 | 36 | | 13operator’s body. This subsection shall not apply to: (i) symbols or text that enable or disable the |
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| 37 | 37 | | 14hands-free mode of either a mobile electronic device or an on-board application; (ii) symbols or |
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| 38 | 38 | | 15text related to the use of audio systems; (iii) symbols or text related to the use of equipment |
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| 39 | 39 | | 16installed in the motor vehicle by the manufacturer; (iv) symbols or text related to the use of a |
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| 40 | 40 | | 17dispatch system; (v) video or images of vehicle occupants other than the operator; or (vi) video, |
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| 41 | 41 | | 18images, symbols or text related to the use of traffic engineering equipment. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 19 SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of said section 13B of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is |
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| 43 | 43 | | 20hereby amended by striking the words “using a mobile electronic device.” |
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