Licensed amateur radio operators
may continue to operate handheld radios in the Amateur Radio Service, despite an
Indiana law that took effect July 1, 2020.
The new law, IC 9-21-8-59, prohibits a person from
holding or using a “telecommunications device” while operating a moving motor
vehicle.
Fortunately, however, a separate part of the Indiana
code, IC 9-13-2-177.3, states that the
definition of a “telecommunications device,” as it applies to the above
referenced IC 9-21-8-59, does
not include “amateur radio equipment
that is being operated by a person licensed as an amateur radio operator by the
Federal Communications Commission under 47 CFR Part 97.”
The provisions of IC 9-13-2-177.3, therefore, exempt the
use of amateur radio equipment from the new handheld device ban (IC 9-21-8-59),
as long as the equipment is operated by a licensed amateur radio operator.