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.

The taxman is coming for iTunes and ringtones.

The legislature's joint Revenue Laws committee approved a bill Tuesday morning that would tax ringtones, music downloads, software and other material delivered electronically, Mark Johnson reports.

The bill is intended to equally tax the electronic version of products that are taxed when sold in a tangible form, such as a compact disc.

Brooks Raiford, president of the N.C. Technology Association, cautioned against singling out the tech sector for new taxes during a downturn.

Raiford, whose group represents primarily high-tech businesses, emphasized that digital products avoid packaging and other byproducts that affect the environment.