This act prohibits individuals from using hand-held electronic wireless communication device to read, send, or write text or electronic messages, and from talking on the phone, while transporting passengers in a motor vehicle for compensation. This prohibition does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles, nor to use of a hand-held electronic device to report illegal activity, summon medical or other emergency help, prevent injury to a person or property, or to relay information between a transit or for-hire operator and a dispatcher when the device is permanently attached to the vehicle.

Violation of this section shall be an infraction, and a moving violation for purposes of driver's license point assessment. Cities and counties may adopt ordinances equivalent to, but not more restrictive than, this section.

This act does not apply to: parked or stopped vehicles; law enforcement officers, fire department members, or ambulance drivers in the performance of their official duties; global positioning systems or digital dispatch systems; use of voice-operated or hands-free devices; and two-way radio transmitters or receivers by a licensee of the Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio Service.

This act is similar to HB 2126 (2016), HB 702 (2015), and HB 1565 (2014).

ERIC VANDER WEERD