After approving the ban as a secondary offense in January, the Senate amended the bill late last month in hopes of making texting and driving a primary offense, said state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, who sponsored a version of the bill.

As a primary offense, a driver can be pulled over for texting without another offense. “My original bill made it a primary (offense), but I was led to believe we couldn’t pass it as a primary,” he said. “Now the Senate folks have said we are going to hold our guns and try to pass it as a primary.”

The Senate also amended the punishment, suggesting a $100 fine for the first violation and $200 for subsequent violations. Originally, the House version did not specify a fine, and the Senate version suggested a $200 fine for a first violation and $500 fine for subsequent violations.

The amended package of bills was referred back to the House, where representatives are expected to vote on the changes by the end of the week, said state Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, who sponsored one of the original House bills.

“Now we can either concur with the new version or we can choose to maybe change it and send it back,” he said.

Gonzales said he is not sure how his House colleagues will respond to the changes but said he would like to finalize either version of the ban before its July 1 effective date.

Groups such as the Michigan State Police have encouraged lawmakers to pass the ban as a primary offense, Kahn said.

Michigan State Police spokeswoman Shannon Banner said the Michigan State Police support the ban either way but prefer it as a primary offense.

“We do think it would be much more of a deterrent to not text while driving if it is a primary offense,” she said.

There is no language in the bill addressing how police would verify a driver was texting. As a primary offense texting and driving would be easier to enforce, Banner said.

Banner also said Michigan does not have any traffic laws that are enforced as a secondary offense.
Some students agreed texting and driving should be punished as a primary offense.

“If you are operating a vehicle without paying attention to the road you are a hazard and should be pulled over,” music education junior Ben Walukonis said.

English sophomore Emily Jarema said she wasn’t sure how anyone would get caught texting and driving if the violation was a secondary offense.

“If someone was speeding and got pulled over they aren’t going to whip out their phone and start texting,” she said. “It would be easier to catch people as a primary offense.”