NY State Senate Bill 2021-S1161

Senate Bill S1161

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Increases and modifies the penalties associated with passing a stopped school bus when using a portable electronic device or mobile telephone

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to transportation
Jan 07, 2021	referred to transportation

2021-S1161 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1174, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S5898
2019-2020: S1188

2021-S1161 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to increasing and modifying the penalties associated with passing a stopped school bus when using a portable electronic device; such minimum and maximum values for such fines shall be doubled.

2021-S1161 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1161

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing
and modifying the penalties associated with passing a stopped school bus
when using a portable electronic device or mobile telephone

 
PURPOSE:

To double the fines imposed on violators of section 1174, title 7, arti-
cle 29, of the state Vehicle and Traffic Law who violate that statue
while physically engaged with an electronic device not permanently inte-
grated with the vehicle, or using a mobile telephone.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends section 1174, title 7, article 29, of the state Vehi-
cle and Traffic Law by doubling the fine for violating that section of
law while physically engaged with an electronic device not permanently

integrated with the vehicle, or using a mobile telephone.

Section 2: States that the act shall take effect ninety days after this
bill shall have become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Our State's children are endangered every day by motorists who fail to
stop for school buses that have their red lights flashing to indicate
that children are boarding or leaving the bus. Data suggests that there
may be tens of thousands of instances per month where drivers illegally
pass a stopped school bus statewide. Such acts endanger our children. To
reduce the safety problem of illegal passing of stopped school buses the
section of the Vehicle and Traffic law that makes this act illegal must
be given bigger teeth. Driving while distracted is bad enough, but a
driver that is so focused on their own activities that they are willing
to pass a stopped school bus is an extreme hazard. By subjecting drivers
that violate that statute while distracted by mobile phones or certain
electronic devices to higher penalties, we can potentially curb such
unsafe behavior.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.5898A/A.8624.
2019-2020: S.1188

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect within 90 days.

2021-S1161 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1161
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation  to  increasing
   and  modifying  the penalties associated with passing a stopped school
   bus when using a portable electronic device or mobile telephone

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision (c) of section 1174 of the vehicle and traffic
 law, as amended by chapter 254 of the laws of 2002, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (c)  Every  person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) of this
 section shall: for a first conviction thereof, be punished by a fine  of
 not  less  than  two  hundred  fifty  dollars nor more than four hundred
 dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or by both such
 fine and imprisonment; for a conviction of a second violation,  both  of
 which  were  committed within a period of three years, such person shall
 be punished by a fine of not less than six hundred dollars nor more than
 seven hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for  not  more  than  one
 hundred  eighty  days  or  by  both  such  fine and imprisonment; upon a
 conviction of a third or subsequent violation, all of which were commit-
 ted within a period of three years, such person shall be punished  by  a
 fine  of  not  less  than  seven hundred fifty dollars nor more than one
 thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one hundred eighty
 days or by both such fine and imprisonment. THE PRESCRIBED  MINIMUM  AND
 MAXIMUM  VALUES FOR FINES UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE DOUBLED IF THE
 OFFENSE WAS COMMITTED WHILE  USING  A  PORTABLE  ELECTRONIC  DEVICE,  AS
 DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH  (A) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED
 TWENTY-FIVE-D OR A MOBILE TELEPHONE, AS  DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF
 SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE-C OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.  Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such effective date.

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04409-01-1

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