A state-wide texting while driving ban won't happen this legislative session. South Dakota lawmakers failed to agree on the extent of the ban in a conference committee. Each chamber had its own version of a ban, but Senate Bill 179 was killed in House committee, and House Bill 1177 made it to the Senate floor where it was amended. House and Senate members were unable to compromise in a conference committee.
The amended version of House Bill 1177 that passed the Senate makes texting while driving a primary offense and Class 2 misdemeanor state-wide. The House refused to accept the Senate’s changes and that led to a conference committee between the two chambers to hash out the differences.
The committee considered an amendment that would make breaking the ban a secondary offense, but increased the fine to $100. The amendment failed with only two out of six members supporting.
Representative Brian Gosch is the prime sponsor of the House measure and says it’s disappointing the two sides were unable to compromise considering support for his version.
“Disappointing, very disappointing. I really would’ve liked to have seen the up or down vote on the Senate floor on my bill and they just don’t want it, they’re not gonna let it happen. They control all the cards on the Senate side so I’m just not going to get that,” Gosch says.
Gosch says he’s hopeful new technology in cars will reduce texting while driving even if the state can’t pass a ban. Senator Mike Vehle is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 179 and proposed the amendment to the House version on the Senate floor.
“Making it so it had to be a secondary offense and only a $25 and take away all the work communities had done just didn’t seem right and I couldn’t do that to the communities. You know, we’ve got 1/3 to 40 percent of the people now, and my guess is you’ll see more communities now that will ban it,” Vehle says.
The conference committee failed to pass an amendment and then voted to not concur in the Senate amendments to House Bill 1177 and to not appoint another conference committee.