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INDIANAPOLIS – Most teen drivers will have to put down their cell phones when a bevy of new state laws go into effect Wednesday.
The new driving restriction is the most high-profile of the legal changes, but other new state laws will allow some golf carts on roads and streets and limit charity gambling in Fort Wayne.
New laws typically take effect every July 1.
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, said Senate Bill 16 – a tougher graduated driver’s license law for teens – will save lives.
The provisions that are effective Wednesday include a cell phone ban for people younger than 18; expansion of curfew provisions and an extension of time before teen drivers can have passengers in the car.
He said the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and the AAA Hoosier Motor Club have been spreading the word on the new laws, and his legislative Web site has a comparison of the changes.
Opponents have argued the cell phone restriction will be hard for police to enforce because they won’t be able to tell from afar the age of a driver.
But Holdman said he expects parents to enforce it as much as law enforcement.
And he said some police officers have told him they can’t wait for the law to take effect.
“There only have to be a few of these tickets in the local newspaper to get folks’ attention,” Holdman said.
Another law that could affect Hoosiers is House Bill 1483. It prohibits golf carts on public roads unless a city or town adopts a local ordinance to allow them.
Attorney Bill Eberhard said he has helped prepare ordinances for Topeka, LaGrange and Rome City in LaGrange County. They are all set to take effect by mid-July.
All three towns abide by state law and require drivers to be licensed and at least 16 years old with proof of insurance. All three say the golf cart must have lights, turn signals and brake lights if operating near dark, but there are no rules regarding seat belts.
The Rome City ordinance requires owners to buy a $40 annual certificate from the town, and the golf cart must be inspected.
Topeka limits the cart to carrying no more than four people, while Rome City and LaGrange allow more passengers depending on the number of seats available.
“Golf carts had realistically become a regular form of transportation in small towns, especially lake towns,” Eberhard said.
But the Bureau of Motor Vehicles refused to plate them and the Indiana State Police said they couldn’t be on the roads without proper registration.
So the General Assembly stepped in to allow the golf carts.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Eberhard said. “Everyone is happy that golf carts are legal, but not particularly happy about having to have a license and insurance to drive them. As a matter of fact, they complicated something that was relatively uncomplicated before.”
Another law change that kicks in Wednesday was meant to shut down a charitable casino in Fort Wayne – the Parnell Poker Palace.
The casino opened legally in December, and was sponsored by White’s School of the Arts, a decades-old community organization run by Ralph White. It offered roulette, blackjack, Texas Hold ’em poker and craps.
Under House Bill 1286, the casino would have had to close Wednesday, but Ernest Yelton, executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, said the organization relinquished its license June 19 and is already closed.
Gaming agents were in town interviewing those involved with the casino about possible regulatory violations and White decided to voluntarily surrender his license before the investigation was complete, Yelton said.
That bill affected White and five other organizations statewide, who all received a cease-and-desist letter. White can apply for a less expansive charity gaming license, such as bingo, but has not done so.
