1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to traffic regulations; prohibiting operation
1.3 	of cellular telephone in moving motor vehicle by
1.4 	holder of provisional driver's license or instruction
1.5 	permit; imposing penalties; proposing coding for new
1.6 	law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. [169.133] TELEPHONE USE BY CERTAIN DRIVERS
1.9 	PROHIBITED.
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Prohibition generally. Except as
1.11 	otherwise provided in this section, a holder of an instruction
1.12 	permit issued under section 171.05 or a provisional driver's
1.13 	license issued under section 171.055 shall not operate a motor
1.14 	vehicle while communicating over, or otherwise operating, a
1.15 	cellular or wireless telephone, regardless of whether the
1.16 	telephone must be handheld or may be hands free for its
1.17 	operation.
1.18 		Subd. 2.Exceptions for passengers and authorized
1.19 	emergency vehicles. Subdivision 1 does not apply to an operator
1.20 	of an authorized emergency vehicle or to any nonoperator
1.21 	passenger of a motor vehicle.
1.22 		Subd. 3.Affirmative defense. A person described in
1.23 	subdivision 1 may assert as an affirmative defense that the
1.24 	violation was made for the sole purpose of obtaining emergency
1.25 	assistance if the person had reason to fear for the life or
1.26 	safety of any person or to believe that a crime was about to be
2.1 	committed in the person's proximity.
2.2 		Subd. 4.Penalties for first and subsequent offenses. A
2.3 	person who is convicted of violating this section is guilty of a
2.4 	petty misdemeanor, subject to the provisions of section 169.89.
2.5 	For the first conviction under this section, the court shall
2.6 	sentence the violator to a minimum fine of $150.  For the second
2.7 	conviction under this section, the court shall sentence the
2.8 	violator to a minimum fine of $300 and suspend the violator's
2.9 	driver's license or operating privileges for a period of 90
2.10 	days.  For the third or subsequent conviction under this
2.11 	section, the court shall sentence the violator to a minimum fine
2.12 	of $300 and shall suspend the violator's driver's license or
2.13 	operating privileges for a period of one year or until the
2.14 	violator reaches the age of 18, whichever occurs first.