Tag search result

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law a ban on texting while driving.

The ban, which prohibits typing or reading texts or e-mails on a mobile phone while driving a car, goes into effect Dec. 1. Dome got the word, appropriately, in a text message from Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson.

FYI — Gov just signed HB 9, No Texting While Driving. This msg 2 u was composed while I was behind my desk, not behind the wheel. Hope u r not driving now. :)

Dome wasn't.

The ban still allows drivers to use GPS devices. It also allows drivers to text while the car is parked. The law wouldn't stop drivers from looking up contacts to make a call.

Texting while driving a school bus is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine. Texting while driving anything else is a less serious infraction punishable by a $100 fine.

A Senate judiciary committee approved a proposed ban on driving while texting Tuesday with few questions.

The bill, which already cleared the House, could go to the Senate floor this week.

"At the end of the day it's about safety," said Rep. Garland Pierce, a Democrat from Wagram and chief sponsor of the bill.

Lobbyists for AAA, State Farm Insurance and "the beleaguered automobile manufacturers all spoke in favor of the legislation.

Under the bill, texting while behind the wheel would be an infraction punishable by a $100 fine, and texting while driving a school bus would be a misdemeanor, drawing a $200 fine.

What did the House pass by crossover?

Here are some of the more interesting bills that made it past the upper chamber before the deadline to be considered by the Senate:

H.B. 9: Bans texting while driving.

H.B. 88: Allows parents to choose comprehensive sex ed for their children.

H.B. 813: Allows people to collect money from negligence lawsuits even if they are somewhat at fault as well.

H.B. 961: Bans campaign contributions from officers of companies that have state contracts.

H.B. 1185: Allows habitual drunk drivers to get their licenses restored after 10 years with some conditions.

More after the jump.

The House adopted a bill that would make it a crime to send a text message or e-mail message while driving a car.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate, cleared the House 104 to 5. It's adoption was delayed while House members worked out language that would affect lawsuits following  collisions in which texting was a factor. The compromise essentially says that texting alone isn't enough to prove negligence.

The bill would make texting behind the wheel an infraction punishable by a $100 fine. Texting while driving a school bus would be a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine. The bill's sponsor acknowledges that the bill may be hard to enforce.

* A proposed ban on sending text messages while driving, already watered down from the original proposal, is struggling in the legislature.

* The Arc of North Carolina says Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget "could have been worse" for the mental health and developmental disability community.

* Democratic Rep. Larry Womble of Winston-Salem wants companies that do business with the state to disclose their historical ties to slavery.

* Republican National Committee member Ada Fisher thinks chairman Michael Steele should step down, but she's not happy her e-mail was leaked.

* House committee says bill to limit texting while driving may be too broadly written. Would it forbid using an iPod or checking your calendar?

* No, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble was not at the meeting at Yalta. That's a joke photo put together by someone on Rep. Walter Jones' staff.

* Progressive bloggers are already starting to discuss what they should do about U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler and his potential Senate run.

* U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, Reps. Jones and G.K. Butterfield urge Environmental Protection Agency to accept PCS Phosphate's plan to expand.

Another state political blogger has joined the scene.

Longtime political reporter Paul Woolverton of the Fayetteville Observer is writing a blog called The People's Business about the legislature and other issues.

So far, posts have highlighted a bill that would ban texting while driving, noted new electronic archives of House audio and dashed hopes about a Interstate 295 loop around Fayetteville.

Woolverton joins the growing ranks of reporter-bloggers in the capital press corps, including Mark Binker of the Greensboro News-Record, Jordan Schrader of the Asheville Citizen-Times, Barry Smith of the Burlington Times-News, Jack Betts of the Charlotte Observer and Laura Leslie of WUNC radio.

Not to mention, yours truly, the Legion of Dome. 

Two more bills would tackle cell phones.

A bill introduced by Sen. James Forrester, a Stanley Republican, would ban texting while driving. Sen. Steve Goss, a Boone Democrat, has filed an identical bill with a broader title.

Goss' bill is a companion to a House bill filed last week.

Previously: Several bills target cell phones 

Cell phones will be a hot topic in the legislature this session.

Already, three bills have been filed that would regulate when and where you can use the phones, and a legislative committee has recommended a fourth.

DRIVETIME CHAT: A bill sponsored by Sen. Charlie Dannelly would make it a traffic infraction to drive while using a cell phone, unless it was on hands-free mode or it was an emergency. A similar bill failed in the 2007 session.

TEXTING'S NEXT: Rep. Garland Pierce has filed a bill that would ban texting while driving. He said he expects it will be less controversial than Dannelly's bill. "When you have to start hitting numbers, you have to look down," he said.

PRISON CELL: Rep. Pierce has also introduced a bill that would prohibit cell phones in prison. In December, the N.C. Department of Correction said that at least two Death Row inmates have been found with cell phones.

RINGTONE MONEY: A joint revenue committee recommended earlier this week that the state begin taxing ringtones and other music delivered electronically at the same rate that it taxes music bought in stores.

More bills were filed this morning in the House:

H.B. 7: Victory Junction Gang Camp License Plate, Reps. Harold Brubaker, Pat Hurley

H.B. 8: Prohibit Cell Phones in Prison, Rep. Garland Pierce

H.B. 9: No Texting While Driving, Pierce

H.B. 10: Garnish Wages to Satisfy a Judgement, Reps. Tim Moore, Laura Wiley

H.B. 11: Regulation of Golf Carts in Grover, Moore

H.B. 12: Bioptic Lenses/Drivers License Tests

H.B. 13: Horn in the West Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 14: Chiropractic Services/Insurance, Tarleton

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Centers/Funds, Tarleton