The speaker of the Arizona House has revived legislation banning texting or other cellphone use by drivers with only a learners permit or during the first six months teenagers have a regular license.
J.D. Mesnard's action came after he replaced fellow Republican representative Rep. Phil Lovas as chairman of the Rules Committee. Lovas had blocked the texting bill until resigning his seat last week to take a job with the Trump Administration.
Mesnard said careful consideration was given to bringing back the bill, due to inexperienced drivers.
“Cause I'm willing to make a distinction between teens and adults," Mesnard said. "And so, in some conversations with them, we've agreed this is not meant to be a camel's nose thing. So I suspect you won't see the next couple of years anything that tries to go further."
Mesnard said he plans on putting Senate Bill 1080 up for a vote in the full House and expects it to pass. The proposal by Sen. Karen Fann has already made it through the state Senate.
The Legislature has regularly rejected texting bans. Arizona is one of just four states without blanket bans on texting while driving.