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Committee refines hands‑free distracted‑driving bill tied to federal funds, adjourns debate for drafting
Summary
Lawmakers considered a hands‑free bill (referred to in the transcript as '32.76') that would raise the first‑offense texting fine to $100, broaden prohibitions to handheld mobile‑device use, set a $200 second‑offense fine, remove points accumulation and include DMV suspension language; the committee adopted amendments and adjourned debate to address drafting concerns.
The committee reviewed a hands‑free distracted‑driving bill the transcript identifies as “32.76.” Sponsors described the bill as expanding the existing texting‑while‑driving prohibition to cover handheld use of mobile devices and increasing fines: $100 for a first offense and $200 for a second or subsequent offense. The subcommittee report eliminated accumulation of driver‑license points for the offense and incorporated a DMV request to delay the effective date one year after the governor’s signature to allow agency system changes.
The sponsor explained the bill is partly motivated by federal funding incentives tied to distracted‑driving countermeasures; the transcript cites $24,000,000 in federal funds related to the issue, which supporters said makes a legislative update more urgent. Committee members raised drafting questions about whether the wording (prohibiting “holding or supporting” a mobile device) might criminalize common, benign uses — for example, drivers placing their phones in cup holders or briefly touching a device to control audio or GPS while driving — and asked staff to refine definitions and carveouts.
The committee adopted a Britton amendment addressing suspension language and other technical points by voice vote and later voted to adjourn debate to the next committee meeting so members could reconcile ambiguous language and enforcement concerns.
Quotations: “If you’re gonna make people put their phones down and drive their car like they should, you gotta do this,” a sponsor told the committee; other members stressed the need to avoid overly broad wording that might catch routine non‑interactive phone placement while driving.
Next steps: Sponsors and committee staff will rework specific definitions (holding, supporting, permitted hands‑free interactions) and return the bill to the Judiciary Committee at a later date for further consideration.
