BISMARCK -- North Dakota lawmakers revived the distracted driving bill on Wednesday after it was defeated by one vote a day earlier.
Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, asked the House to reconsider its action on the bill, which then passed on a 56-37 vote. It now goes to the Senate.
House Bill 1190 goes beyond texting while driving and includes any distraction. Like the texting while driving ban bill, this bill carries a $100 fine. The distracted driving bill does not include driver's license points in its penalty.
Another difference is distracted driving would be a secondary offense, not a primary one like the texting bill.
That means drivers would need to be pulled over for another violation -- such as weaving in the road -- before they could be cited for distracted driving.
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One of the distracted driving bill's supporters is Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, who said the texting bill focuses on just one form of distracted driving. Supporters also say people shouldn't be penalized for texting if it doesn't affect their driving.
Opponents say the public is primarily concerned about texting while driving. Rep. Ed Gruchalla, D-Fargo, has opposed the distracted driving bill due to its secondary enforcement.
The Senate will now consider the distracted driving bill and the texting while driving ban, which passed the House on Tuesday on a 50-41 vote.
K-12 education
The House Education Committee voted 10-5 to give do-not pass recommendations to the abstinence and middle school personal finance bills.
House Bill 1229 would require schools to ensure their health curriculum exposes students to abstinence-based concepts.
This includes telling students that abstinence is the expected standard, and sexual activity outside marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.
House Bill 1412 would require students to learn about concepts of personal finance at least once during sixth, seventh or eighth grade.
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Finneman is a multimedia reporter for Forum Communications Co.
