00Enrolled SB 255                                                                                                         
01 Relating to traffic preemption devices.                                                                                 
02                           _______________                                                                               
03    * Section 1.  AS 11.56 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                 
04            Sec. 11.56.825.  Unlawful possession or use of traffic preemption device.                                  
05       (a)  A person commits the crime of unlawful possession or use of a traffic preemption                             
06       device if the person possesses or uses a traffic preemption device and that person is                             
07       not, at the time of the possession or use, operating an emergency vehicle.                                        
08            (b)  This section does not apply to                                                                          
09                 (1)  an employee of the state or a municipality who, at the time of the                                 
10       possession or use of a traffic preemption device, is authorized to install, repair, or                            
11       maintain traffic preemption devices and only uses a device in the process of installing,                          
12       repairing, and maintaining the devices; or                                                                        
13                 (2)  a person operating a motor vehicle involved in highway                                             
14       maintenance or public transit that has been authorized by the Department of                                       
15       Transportation and Public Facilities or by the municipal assembly or council, as                                  

01       appropriate, to possess or use a traffic preemption device.                                                       
02            (c)  In this section,                                                                                        
03                 (1)  "emergency vehicle" means a police, fire, or emergency medical                                     
04       service vehicle that only uses a traffic preemption device when responding to a fire or                           
05       other emergency or when transporting a patient to a hospital or clinic or for transfer to                         
06       another emergency vehicle;                                                                                        
07                 (2)  "traffic preemption device" means a system that uses infrared light                                
08       or other technology on a motor vehicle to transmit a signal to a receiver connected to a                          
09       traffic light or other traffic control device for the purpose of giving the vehicle                               
10       transmitting the signal the right-of-way by changing the traffic light or control device.                         
11            (d)  Unlawful possession or use of a traffic preemption device is a class A                                  
12       misdemeanor.