Lawmakers in the State House and Senate may end up hashing out different versions of two bills that regulate texting and driving.
The State Senate checked off on SB 179, while the House approved HB 1177.
SDPB’s Charles Michael Ray has more.
Both bills being considered in Pierre restrict texting and driving. But not in a way that makes everyone happy. Steve Allender is the Chief of the Rapid City Police Department. He testified against HB 1177 in front of the Senate State Affairs Committee. Allender says this bill lacks the necessary provisions to make it effective.
“Texting has become an addictive epidemic. Not only among our young people, it’s probably worse against people who aren’t young. Because, we have to look down and adjust out bifocals, and we have to figure out this newfangled device and it’s very dangerous,” says Allender.
Allender says studies have shown that texting bans save lives and reduce traffic accidents. He asked lawmakers to pass a better version of the bill that gives more authority for law enforcement to restrict texting and driving. But others oppose the idea of allowing police officers to confiscate a phone in a traffic stop to see if someone was texting. State Representative Brian Gosh spoke in favor of HB 1177 in committee. He backs a texting ban. But, Gosh says there are several types of protected speech that should prohibit law enforcement from viewing a phone without a warrant.
“Information between husband and wife that’s privileged. Information between the clergy and their members that is privileged information. Information between a school counselor and their student. Also on your phone--because they are computers now in most cases you also have proprietary information, it might be trade secrets, it might be personal information, it might be banking and credit card information that should be protected,” says Gosh.
House Bill 11-77 went on to pass out of the Senate State Affairs committee by a vote of 5 to 4. The separate Senate version of the texting ban is scheduled for debate before the House Transportation Committee.