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2007 House Bill 5117 (Ban “text messaging” while driving ) (House Roll Call 1003)

Passed in the House (68 to 32) on December 4, 2008, to establish as a civil infraction “text messaging” while driving. Specifically, the bill would explicitly prohibit operating a motor vehicle while reading, manually writing, or sending a message on an electronic wireless device. Enforcement would be accomplished only as a secondary action (when the driver had been detained for another violation), and no points would be assessed for violations. [History, Amendments & Comments]

The vote was 68 in favor, 32 opposed, and 10 not voting
(House Roll Call 1003 at House Journal 90)

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Vote
Support Support
Oppose Oppose
Not Voting Not Voting
Undecided
Legislators (Democrat)
811981%
109010%
8928%
58 total votes
Legislators (Republican)
406040%
505050%
9919%
52 total votes

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The following legislators supported 2007 House Bill 5117 (Ban “text messaging” while driving ):

Accavitti (D) Amos (R) Ball (R) Bauer (D) Bennett (D) Bieda (D)
Booher (R) Brown (D) Byrnes (D) Byrum (D) Clack (D) Clemente (D)
Condino (D) Constan (D) Corriveau (D) Coulouris (D) Cushingberry (D) Dean (D)
Dillon (D) Donigan (D) Ebli (D) Emmons (R) Espinoza (D) Farrah (D)
Gaffney (R) Gonzales (D) Green (R) Griffin (D) Hammel (D) Hammon (D)
Hansen (R) Hood (D) Hopgood (D) Horn (R) Johnson (D) Jones, Rick (R)
Jones, Robert (D) Knollenberg (R) Law, David (R) Law, Kathleen (D) Leland (D) Lemmons (D)
Lindberg (D) Mayes (D) McDowell (D) Meadows (D) Meisner (D) Melton (D)
Miller (D) Moss (R) Nofs (R) Opsommer (R) Pearce (R) Polidori (D)
Proos (R) Rocca (R) Sak (D) Schuitmaker (R) Scott (D) Sheltrown (D)
Simpson (D) Smith, Alma (D) Smith, Virgil (D) Stahl (R) Stakoe (R) Valentine (D)
Wenke (R) Wojno (D)     

The following legislators opposed 2007 House Bill 5117 (Ban “text messaging” while driving ):

Acciavatti (R) Agema (R) Angerer (D) Brandenburg (R) Calley (R) Casperson (R)
Caswell (R) Caul (R) DeRoche (R) Garfield (R) Gillard (D) Hildenbrand (R)
Huizenga (R) Hune (R) Jackson (D) Lahti (D) LeBlanc (D) Marleau (R)
Meekhof (R) Moolenaar (R) Moore (R) Nitz (R) Palmer (R) Palsrok (R)
Pastor (R) Pavlov (R) Robertson (R) Shaffer (R) Sheen (R) Spade (D)
Steil (R) Walker (R)     

The following legislators did not vote on 2007 House Bill 5117 (Ban “text messaging” while driving ):

Cheeks (D) Elsenheimer (R) Hoogendyk (R) LaJoy (R) Meltzer (R) Tobocman (D)
Vagnozzi (D) Ward (R) Warren (D) Young (D)   

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Most Recent Comments

1) We Also Need [by Anonymous Citizen on September 10, 2007]
to look into these folks that change their babies diapers while driving.
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2) Text Messaging is nothing ... [by Mike Hignite on September 10, 2007]
... compared to the danger of cooking pancakes while driving.

Besides the obvious fire-hazard danger of operating a coleman stove in the front seat of an SUV doing 70 mph down I-94, the constant need to flip pancakes, keep the pancake off the roof of the car, have it hit the griddle cleanly and pass people in the slow lane is way too much distraction.

Forget text-messaging. Let's stamp out pancake grilling while operating a motor vehicle.
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3) how about we just label [by Anonymous Citizen on August 30, 2007]
text messaging while driving as what it is, wreckless endangerment. give the driver who does it a year behind bars, and see how often it happens again.

don't wait for some twit with a cell phone to kill your kids, fix the problem now with the existing laws we have.

writing new laws doesn't solve the problem, ENFORCING THE LAW DOES.
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