STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3729 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting manufacturers and distributors from providing certain portable elec- tronic devices for sale in this state; and to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to eliminating the exemption granted to certain persons relating to the use of portable devices The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 390-f to read as follows: 3 § 390-f. Distribution of portable electronic devices. 1. For the 4 purposes of this section, "portable electronic device" shall mean any 5 hand-held mobile telephone, as defined by subdivision one of section 6 twelve hundred twenty-five-c of the vehicle and traffic law, personal 7 digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with mobile data access, laptop 8 computer, pager, broadband personal communication device, two-way 9 messaging device, electronic game, portable computing device, or any 10 other electronic device which can be used to input, write, send, 11 receive, or read text for present or future communication. 12 2. On and after January first, two thousand twenty-eight, no manufac- 13 turer or distributor shall provide for sale in this state any portable 14 electronic device, unless the ability of such device to input, write, 15 send, receive and read text, digital information and images when the 16 holder of such device is operating a motor vehicle traveling at ten or 17 more miles an hour. 18 3. Any manufacturer or distributor which violates the provisions of 19 subdivision two of this section, and any person who sells a portable 20 electronic device provided in violation of such subdivision shall be 21 subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each device. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07495-01-5
S. 3729 2 1 § 2. Subdivisions 1, 3 and 4 of section 1225-d of the vehicle and 2 traffic law, subdivision 1 as amended by section 6 and subdivision 4 as 3 amended by section 10 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, and 4 subdivision 3 as added by chapter 403 of the laws of 2009, are amended 5 to read as follows: 6 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall oper- 7 ate a motor vehicle while using any portable electronic device while 8 such vehicle is in motion; provided, however, that no person shall oper- 9 ate a commercial motor vehicle while using any portable electronic 10 device on a public highway including while temporarily stationary 11 because of traffic, a traffic control device, or other momentary delays. 12 [Provided further, however, that a person shall not be deemed to be 13 operating a commercial motor vehicle while using a portable electronic 14 device on a public highway when such vehicle is stopped at the side of, 15 or off, a public highway in a location where such vehicle is not other- 16 wise prohibited from stopping by law, rule, regulation or any lawful 17 order or direction of a police officer.] 18 3. Subdivision one of this section shall not apply to [(a)] the use of 19 a portable electronic device for the sole purpose of communicating with 20 any of the following regarding an emergency situation: an emergency 21 response operator; a hospital; a physician's office or health clinic; an 22 ambulance company or corps; a fire department, district or company; or a 23 police department[, (b) any of the following persons while in the 24 performance of their official duties: a police officer or peace officer; 25 a member of a fire department, district or company; or the operator of 26 an authorized emergency vehicle as defined in section one hundred one of 27 this chapter]. 28 4. A person who holds a portable electronic device in a conspicuous 29 manner while operating a motor vehicle or while operating a commercial 30 motor vehicle on a public highway including while temporarily stationary 31 because of traffic, a traffic control device, or other momentary delays 32 [but not including when such commercial motor vehicle is stopped at the 33 side of, or off, a public highway in a location where such vehicle is 34 not otherwise prohibited from stopping by law, rule, regulation or any 35 lawful order or direction of a police officer] is presumed to be using 36 such device[, except that a person operating a commercial motor vehicle 37 while using a portable electronic device when such vehicle is stopped at 38 the side of, or off, a public highway in a location where such vehicle 39 is not otherwise prohibited from stopping by law, rule, regulation or 40 any lawful order or direction of a police officer shall not be presumed 41 to be using such device]. The presumption established by this subdivi- 42 sion is rebuttable by evidence tending to show that the operator was not 43 using the device within the meaning of this section. 44 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 45 have become a law.