A new bill passed by the state’s House of Representatives would ban using a phone while driving—but critics say an attached amendment weakens the bill.
Representative Mike Carroll says the amendment makes using a phone while driving a secondary offense.
“This bill as amended does the opposite [of making people safe],” Carroll said. “We will have additional people texting while driving because, “Good news it’s a second offense, I can do whatever I want, in front of a cop, as long as I’m compliant with the vehicle code in such a way that they can’t pull me over for any other reason, I can text and drive right in front of a state trooper.'”
Supporters of the bill say it’s similar to the seat belt law, which is also a secondary offense.
The bill passed the house 120 to 74.