(a) No driver shall operate a school bus on any highway while using a cell telephone while such vehicle is in motion and such vehicle is transporting 1 or more children; provided, that this section shall not apply to communications made to and from a central dispatch, school transportation department or its equivalent when the bus is not equipped with a functioning 2-way radio.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “cell telephone” means a cellular, analog, wireless or digital telephone.
(c) Whoever violates this section shall for the first offense be fined not less than $50 nor more than $100. For each subsequent offense the person shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $200 and shall have that person's school bus endorsement removed from that person's driver's license for a period of at least 6 months.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the driver's use of a cell telephone was necessitated by a bona fide emergency.