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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2121 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3612 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Bruce J. Ayers |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to increasing the fines and penalties for texting and driving. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bruce J. Ayers1st Norfolk1/15/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2121 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3612 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Ayers of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3612) of Bruce |
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| 19 | 19 | | J. Ayers for legislation to increase the fines and penalties for texting while driving. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Transportation. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 3263 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to increasing the fines and penalties for texting and driving. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 13B of chapter 90 of the General Laws is hereby amended by |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2striking out the last sentence of subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3sentence:- For the purposes of this section, an operator shall not be considered to be operating a |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4motor vehicle if the vehicle is stationary and not located in a part of the public way intended for |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5travel but shall be considered to be operating a motor vehicle if the vehicle is stopped in traffic. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6 SECTION 2. Section 13B of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7striking out the first sentence of subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8subsection:- 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9 (b) A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $250 and a permit or |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10license suspension of 90 days for a first offense, by a fine of $500 for a second offense and by a |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11fine of $750 for a third or subsequent offense. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12 SECTION 3. Section 24 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13inserting after the word “both”, in line 737, the following words:- ; provided, however, that any |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14conviction made pursuant to the provisions of this section resulting from a violation of section |
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| 45 | 45 | | 158M, 12A or 13B shall operate as a conviction for purposes of a registry of motor vehicles action |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16and for purposes of the safe driver insurance plan established pursuant to section 113B of chapter |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17175. |
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