More information on those Senate bills is available.
Here are a few of the more interesting bills not already discussed on Dome:
S.B. 6: Would temporarily stay on higher surcharges under the state's Beach Plan and increases in statewide insurance rate.
S.B. 8: Would appropriate $10 million to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to hire people to work in community programs for the developmentally disabled.
S.B. 11: Would allow a district attorney or assistant D.A. who has a concealed handgun permit to carry a gun while on duty in the courthouse.
S.B. 12: Would make it an infraction with a $100 fine to use a cell phone while driving except during an emergency.
S.B. 13: Would increase penalties for injuring a pregnant woman who is past her 20th week of pregnancy and include it as an aggravating factor in felony cases.
S.B. 14: Would transfer the functions of the Occupational Safety and Health division to a new commission not in the N.C. Department of Labor.
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S.B. 12......... Absolutely Not
S.B. 12.... Outlaw cell phones use in cars travel except during emergency?... Well- why don't we also outlaw radio, singing, talking, looking in mirrors, whistling, blinking, yawning, coughing, kids, dogs, insects, sunglasses, hats, Etc. Etc. Etc..... All are comparable distractions. Or... how about outlawing driving all together? That should solve the problem. In all seriousness, this bill is like cutting off your nose in spite of your face. Cell phones are vital for communication and commerce. The "PROBLEM" isn't talking on cell phones. The problem is the physical process of taking a hand off the steering wheel for an extended period of time and creating a blind spot with a phone to your ear, covering your perepheral vision. My proposal would be to require speaker phone or hands free phone calls in a car. Anyone spotted with a home to their ear should be prosecuted. It is almost unenforceable to know if a person is on the phone 'hands free' (could appear to be singing, or talking to a passenger). A phone to the ear would be easily detectable and a tangible solution. There are a million distractions in driving. Lets be smart and rational in our approach to cause and affect.