A bill banning on texting or using social media while driving in Mississippi is headed to the state senate. The bill is similar to one that died in the final minutes of the 20-14 legislative session..
House bill 389 would ban texting and using social media on a mobile phone while driving in the state.
Explaining the bill on the floor of the house, Transportation chair Robert Johnson of Natchez says it does not totally prohibiting using a phone while driving.
"You can make a phone call. You can receive a phone call. You can dial a number. What you can't do is text a message. you cannot access your message that is text to you. You cannot use the social networking page. You can't post anything on facebook," Johnson said.
Police could stop drivers for texting while driving.
Violations would carry a 25-dollar penalty that increases to 100-dollars after a year.
Representative Adrienne Wooten of Ridgeland was one of 20 lawmakers to vote against the ban.
She worries the law will be used as a pretext for police stop or profile drivers.
"This is setting a bad president for police to be able to just pull you over without probable cause and then generate a probable cause basis that is not real," Wooten said.
The bill is authored by Representative Bill Denny of Jackson, who was responsible for entering a motion that killed a texting while driving in the final moments of the 20-14 legislative session.
