House Committee on Transportation & Energy (02/03/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Date:	02/03/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:50 AM to 12:45 PM	Borodkin	X
		Cadman	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Green	*
		Hefley	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Knoedler	X
	Representative Pommer	Larson	X
		Lindstrom	X
This Report was prepared by		Ragsdale	X
	Brad Denning	Welker	X
		McFadyen	*
		Pommer	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB05-1137		Referred to the Committee of the Whole

11:51 AM -- House Bill 05-1137

Representative Garcia, prime sponsor, explained House Bill 05-1137 which makes it a secondary traffic offense for a driver, who holds a temporary instruction permit, to use a cellular telephone or other mobile communication device while driving. Mr. Garcia provided the Attachment A, Highway Accident Report - Ford Explorer Collision with Ford Windstar and Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Attachment B, Safety Recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He responded to committee questions.

The following people testified:

12:00 PM -- Mark Rosenker, Vice Chairman of the NTSB, representing the NTSB, spoke in support of the bill. He provided his testimony in written format (Attachment C). He responded to various committee questions regarding Attachment A, the accident report he described, and his testimony. Mr. Rosenker explained that although the young woman in this accident was holding a regular license, not a minor's instruction permit, she was a novice driver with limited use of her vehicle.

12:16 PM -- Annie Lewis, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She explained some recent studies supporting the distraction of cell phones to experienced drivers, and her own experiences. She responded to committee questions.

12:27 PM -- Gary Bugg, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Bugg has been a driver's tester in the past and a driver instructor. He believes that leaving this issue up to parental instruction is not necessarily the answer to the issue.

12:32 PM -- Jill Carlston, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She provided testimony on various studies related to driving and using cell phones.

Representative Garcia concluded his remarks.


BILL:	HB05-1137
TIME:	12:39:06 PM
MOVED:	McFadyen
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 05-1137, unamended, to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 7-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Green
		VOTE
	Borodkin	Yes
	Cadman	No
	Green	Yes
	Hefley	No
	Knoedler	No
	Larson	Yes
	Lindstrom	Yes
	Ragsdale	Yes
	Welker	No
	McFadyen	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

Representative Pommer laid over the remaining of the calendar until the next meeting on February 9th.