Florida Texting Ban Bill Hits Snag

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Members of the Florida House this year are not expected to hold a floor vote on a proposed ban on texting while driving, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported. 

That's because Finance and Tax Council Chairwoman Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Ft. Lauderdale) opted not to schedule the bill for a hearing. 

"It's intellectually dishonest," Bogdanoff said of the proposed ban. "There are a lot of things that people do in their cars that are very distracting and all of them need to be addressed. And it needs to be addressed from a different perspective," she said. 

Bogdanoff told Bloomberg that such bans are difficult to enforce and predicted that in a couple years voice-activation technology will advance to the point that people will no longer feel the need to text manually anyway. 

Moreover, Bogdanoff said lawmakers ran out of time to address the proposed ban. The bill has been in her council since March 16, Bloomberg reported. 

The Florida Senate is scheduled to vote on a companion bill next week. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has expressed support for such a ban.