| 1 | 1 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2639 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | SENATE, March 7, 2024. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | The committee on Transportation, to whom was referred the petitions (accompanied by |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | bill, Senate, No. 2212) of Brendan P. Crighton for legislation relative to the Move Over Law; |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2240) of Anne M. Gobi for legislation relative to updating the |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | state "Move Over" law; (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3329) of Kenneth I. Gordon relative to |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | the move over law; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3479) of Steven George Xiarhos and |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | Jessica Ann Giannino relative to the move over law, so-called, report the accompanying bill |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | (Senate, No. 2639). |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | For the committee, |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | Brendan P. Crighton 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2639 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | An Act relative to the Move Over Law. |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 7C of chapter 89 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Recovery vehicle” the |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 3following definition:- |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 4 "Utility vehicle," a vehicle being used to install, maintain, repair, operate or restore |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 5communications service, electric or gas distribution or transmission service in an emergency and |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 6that is operated by an employee of or a person under contract with a company incorporated for |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 7the transmission of intelligence by electricity or by telephone or an electric distribution, |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 8transmission or distribution company as defined by section 1 of chapter 164. |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 9 SECTION 2. Subsection (b) of said section 7C of said chapter 89, as so appearing, is |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 10hereby amended by inserting after the words “maintenance vehicle”, the following words:- “, |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 11utility vehicle”. 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 12 SECTION 3. Paragraph (1) of said subsection (b) of said section 7C of said chapter 89, as |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 13so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “maintenance vehicle”, the |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 14following words:- “, utility vehicle”. |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 15 SECTION 4. Section 7C of chapter 89 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 16amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following:- |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 17 (c) Violation of this section may be punished by a fine of $250 for a first offense, by a |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 18fine of $1000 for a second offense, and by a fine of $2,500 for a third or subsequent offense; |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 19provided that any violation that results in injury to another person may be punished by a fine of |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 20$5,000 or up to one year in a jail or house of correction. |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 21 SECTION 5. Said section 7C of said chapter 89, as so appearing is further amended, by |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 22adding the following subsections:- |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 23 (d) In addition to any fines pursuant to subsection (c), an operator who commits a second |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 24offense shall be required to complete a program selected by the registrar of motor vehicles that |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 25encourages a change in driver behavior and attitude about the “Move Over Law”. |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 26 (e) A first or second offense under this Section shall not be a surchargeable incident |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 27under section 113B of chapter 175 or under a motor vehicle liability policy as defined in section |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 2834A that is issued pursuant to said chapter 175; provided, however, that a third or subsequent |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 29offense shall be a surchargeable incident under said section 113B of said chapter 175 or under a |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 30motor vehicle liability policy as defined in said section 34A that is issued pursuant to said |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 31chapter 175. 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 32 (f) The registrar of motor vehicles, in cooperation with the highway safety division, the |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 33department of elementary and secondary education, the department of higher education, the |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 34department of state police and municipal law enforcement, shall develop and implement an |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 35annual public awareness campaign for junior and adult operators. The campaign shall include, |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 36but not be limited to, the dangers and consequences of distracted driving, information on the |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 37restrictions of mobile telephone and mobile electronic device use while operating a motor |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 38vehicle under sections 8M, 12A, 13, and 13B of chapter 90 of the General Laws, information on |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 39the fines and punishments that may be imposed for violations of said chapter 90 and bicycle |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | 40safety. The registrar of motor vehicles shall include information on the hazards of distracted |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | 41driving in each revised publication of the driver’s manual. |
|---|