HB2760 SD2.DOC

PART I

SECTION 1. Chapter 291C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§291C- Mobile electronic devices; prohibitions. (a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device.

(b) The use of a mobile electronic device for the sole purpose of making a 911 emergency communication shall be an affirmative defense to this section.

(1) Emergency responders using a mobile electronic device while in the performance and scope of their official duties;

(2) Drivers operating fleet vehicles using two-way radios while in the performance and scope of their work-related duties;

(3) Drivers holding a valid amateur radio operator license issued by the Federal Communications Commission and using a half-duplex two-way radio; and

(4) Drivers operating a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle equipped with an electronic global position tracking system.

(d) Any person who violates this section shall be subject to the following:

(1) For a first violation, or any violation not preceded within one year by a prior violation of this section, a fine of at least $100 but less than $200;

(2) For a violation that occurs within one year of a prior violation of this section, a fine of at least $200 but less than $300 and the suspension of the person's driver's license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of thirty days; and

(3) For a violation that occurs within two years of two prior violations of this section, and for the fourth and each additional violation of this section, regardless of when the violation occurred, a fine of at least $300 but less than $500 and the suspension of the person's driver's license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of ninety days.

(e) In addition to any other penalties provided for under this section, any operator of a commercial motor vehicle found in violation of this section shall also be penalized in accordance with section 286-240(e).

(f) As used in this section:

"Emergency responders" means any firefighters, emergency medical technicians, mobile intensive care technicians, civil defense workers, police officers, and federal and state law enforcement officers.

"Fleet vehicle" means any vehicle validly registered pursuant to section 286-53.5.

"Mobile electronic device" means any handheld or other portable electronic equipment recognized by the citing officer or other witness to be capable of providing:

(1) Wireless audio, video, or data communication between two or more persons; or

(2) Amusement, including a cellular phone, text messaging device, paging device, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, video game, or digital photographic device;

provided that "mobile electronic device" shall not include any audio equipment or any equipment installed in a motor vehicle for the purpose of providing audio, navigation, or emergency assistance to the operator of the motor vehicle, or video entertainment to the passengers in the rear seats of the motor vehicle. A two-way radio or private land mobile radio system as defined by Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 90, section 90.7, when used for business purposes, shall not be considered a "mobile electronic device".

"Operate" means to drive or assume actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway in the State.

"Use or using a mobile electronic device" means holding a mobile electronic device."

SECTION 2. Section 291C-161, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is

amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) Every person convicted under or found in violation of section 291C-12, 291C-12.5, 291C-12.6, 291C-13, 291C-14, 291C-15, 291C-16, 291C-72, 291C-73, 291C-95, 291C-102, 291C‑103, 291C-104, [or] 291C-105, or 291C- shall be sentenced or fined in accordance with those sections."

PART II

SECTION 3. Section 264-20.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§264-20.5[]] Complete streets. (a) The department of transportation and the county transportation departments shall adopt a complete streets policy that seeks to reasonably accommodate convenient access and mobility for all users of the public highways within their respective jurisdictions as described under section 264-1, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motorists, and persons of all ages and abilities. All budget or appropriation requests from the department of transportation for design of a highway may incorporate the complete streets policy.

(b) This section shall apply to new construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of highways, roads, streets, ways, and lanes located within urban, suburban, and rural areas, if appropriate for the application of complete streets.

(1) Use of a particular highway, road, street, way, or lane by bicyclists or pedestrians is prohibited by law, including within interstate highway corridors;

(2) The costs would be excessively disproportionate to the need or probable use of the particular highway, road, street, way, or lane;

(3) There exists a sparseness of population, or there exists other available means, or similar factors indicating an absence of a future need; or

(4) The safety of vehicular, pedestrian, or bicycle traffic may be placed at unacceptable risk.

(d) New highways may be engineered to maximize the safety of pedestrians while crossing a highway, or crossing a street or roadway, as those terms are defined in section 291C‑1, including consideration of the width, number of lanes, crossing islands, and speed of traffic.

(e) Roundabouts may be installed, where appropriate, including at intersections, as a method of controlling vehicular speed."

SECTION 4. The department of transportation is authorized to select eight projects distributed throughout the State where roundabouts will be used and flexible context-sensitive design standards or an equivalent process will be incorporated into project design.

PART III

SECTION 5. Chapter 291C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§291C- Bicycles transport. A bicycle shall not be transported on buses in the public transportation system, unless the bicycle has a wheel base not more than forty-four inches wide; tires not more than 2.3 inches; wheel diameters not less than twenty inches long; and a total weight of not more than fifty-five pounds."

SECTION 6. Section 249-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "bicycle" to read as follows:

""Bicycle" means [~~every device propelled solely by human power~~]:

(1) A vehicle upon which any person may ride[,] that is propelled solely by human power, having two tandem wheels sixteen inches in diameter or greater, and including any [~~device~~] vehicle generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels[.], except for a toy bicycle; or

(2) A vehicle upon which any person may ride that has two tandem wheels, including any vehicle generally recognized as a bicycle even if equipped with two front or two rear wheels and an electric motor that shall produce less than seven hundred fifty watts or has no more than one horsepower and is capable of propelling the vehicle at a maximum speed of less than twenty miles per hour on a paved level surface."

SECTION 7. Section 291C-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "bicycle" to read as follows:

""Bicycle" means [~~every~~]:

(1) A vehicle upon which a person may ride that is propelled solely by human power [~~upon which any person may ride, having~~] and has two tandem wheels[~~, and~~ ~~including~~]. "Bicycle" includes any vehicle generally recognized as a bicycle even though it is equipped with two front or two rear wheels [~~except~~]; provided that "bicycle" shall not include a toy bicycle[.]; or

(2) A vehicle generally recognized as a bicycle that is equipped with an electric motor that:

(A) Produces less than seven hundred fifty watts or has no more than one horsepower; and

(B) Is capable of propelling the vehicle to a maximum speed of twenty miles per hour on a paved level surface."

SECTION 8. Section 291C-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291C-123 Driving or parking upon bikeway; parking penalty. (a) No person shall drive any vehicle other than a bicycle [~~or moped~~] upon a bicycle lane or bicycle path, except upon a permanent or authorized temporary driveway, or park any vehicle upon a bicycle lane or bicycle path; provided that any vehicle may be driven or parked in a bicycle lane or bicycle path as applicable if:

(1) It is in the process of executing a legal turn, lane change, or parking maneuver;

(2) It is an authorized emergency vehicle performing the functions under section 291C-26;

(3) It is an official federal, state, or county vehicle in the performance of its actual duty;

(4) It is a stalled or broken vehicle;

(5) It is necessary to assist a stalled or broken vehicle;

(6) It is necessary to yield to an authorized emergency vehicle pursuant to section 291C-65; or

(7) It is otherwise provided by law.

(b) Any person violating the [~~parking prohibition in subsection (a)~~] prohibitions in this section shall be fined not more than $500."

SECTION 9. Section 291C-145, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:

"(f) The director of transportation by rule and the counties by ordinance [~~may~~], with respect to bikeways under their respective jurisdictions [~~restrict or~~], shall prohibit the use of [~~such~~] the bikeways by mopeds[.]; provided that any such prohibition complies with the requirements of section 291C-197."

SECTION 10. Section 291C-197, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291C-197 Driving mopeds on bicycle lanes and paths[.]; prohibited. (a) [~~Wherever bicycle lanes are provided on the roadway, moped drivers shall use such bicycle lanes.~~] No moped driver shall operate a moped on a bicycle lane or a bicycle path.

(b) The director of transportation by rule and the counties by ordinance [~~may~~], with respect to bicycle paths and bicycle lanes under their respective jurisdictions [~~restrict or~~], shall prohibit the use of [~~such~~] the bicycle paths or bicycle lanes by mopeds. Signs clearly visible to an ordinarily observant person indicating the [~~restriction or~~] prohibition shall be placed along bicycle paths and bicycle lanes so designated and every moped driver shall obey the directions thereof.

[~~(c) This section shall not apply to a three-wheeled moped.~~]"

PART IV

SECTION 11. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 12. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 13. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2760
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2