Public Act 59 of 2010

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• Introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on April 23, 2009, to prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, subject to a $100 fine.
  • Referred to the Senate Transportation Committee on April 23, 2009.
    • Reported in the Senate on December 9, 2009, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on December 17, 2009, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that establishes fines for the "driving while texting" offense proposed by Senate Bill 402. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on December 17, 2009.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Bruce Patterson (R) on January 26, 2010, to make the proposed "driving-while-texting" offense a "primary" one, meaning that police could stop a motorist for just this. As substituted, the bill makes this a "secondary" offense only. The amendment failed 17 to 20 in the Senate on January 26, 2010.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Passed 31 to 6 in the Senate on January 26, 2010, to impose a mandatory fine of $200 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense for the "driving while texting" offense proposed by Senate Bill 402. No "points" would be entered on a person's driving record for a violation.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on January 26, 2010.
  • Referred to the House Transportation Committee on January 26, 2010.
    • Reported in the House on March 18, 2010, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the House on April 20, 2010. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on April 20, 2010.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Alma Smith (D) on April 21, 2010, to place fine revenue from "texting while driving" violations into the state general fund rather than to local governments and libraries, but only if two of the (many) penalties imposed by the ”driver responsibility fees or “bad driver tax” law are repealed, the ones for having more than seven drivers license points and for driving without a valid license or endorsement. The $1,000 surtax for driving with a suspended license and the $400 or $1,000 one for driving without insurance would not be repealed, and reportedly these levies are much more common and/or account for much more of the revenue. The amendment passed by voice vote in the House on April 21, 2010.
• Passed 89 to 19 in the House on April 21, 2010, to impose a mandatory fine of $100 for a first offense and $200 for a subsequent offense for the "texting while driving" offense proposed by Senate Bill 4394. No "points" would be entered on a person's driving record for a violation, and driver could be stopped for just this.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the Senate on April 27, 2010.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on April 27, 2010, to strip out the House provision earmarking the expected fine revenue to the state general fund rather than to libraries, which is where other traffic ticket goes. Note: Traffic fine revenue goes to libraries in part to reduce the incentive for law enforcement to issue tickets for revenue purposes rather than public safety. The House earmark was intended to allow limited repeal of some parts of that tax to allow limited repeal of some parts of the "bad driver" tax, revenue from which goes to the general fund. The amendment passed by voice vote in the Senate on April 27, 2010.
• Passed 26 to 10 in the Senate on April 27, 2010, to send the bill back to the House without the House-passed earmark of texting-while-driving revenue to the general fund, which was intended to allow limited repeal of some parts of the "bad driver" tax.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on April 27, 2010.
• Passed 82 to 22 in the House on April 28, 2010, to concur with the Senate-passed version of the bill, which does not contain the House-passed earmarking of "texting-while-driving" fines toward repealing some of the "bad driver" taxes.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on April 30, 2010.