The New York Senate approved a measure that would make the state the first in the nation to ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones, according to Associated Press. The approval came June 21, 2001 after Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders said an agreement on the proposal had been reached. The Assembly was to take it up on June 25. Lawmakers embraced the notion after independent polls showed New Yorkers favoring the ban by a wide margin. Several counties across the state have already enacted such bans. Violators of the New York law could be fined up to $100 beginning in December. If approved and signed by Pataki, the New York proposal would take effect Nov. 1, but violators would get only a verbal warning for a month. Those nabbed after Dec. 1 would be ticketed, but they could get that dismissed through February by showing a receipt for a hands-free system.