Labrador: Inattentive driving already a crime
It was Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, who objected to House Majority Leader Mike Moyle's unanimous-consent request to use a previous roll-call to suspend rules and allow the immediate consideration of the amended texting-while-driving bill, which then led to the bill being killed in the final moments of this year's legislative session. "Yes, that was me," Labrador said. "I think we had made our position clear, and I just thought that was the right thing to do," even though it leaves Idaho with no texting-while-driving bill passing this year. "I think we have a law on inattentive driving, and texting while driving is inattentive driving, which is already a crime in the state of Idaho," said Labrador, an attorney and a candidate for Congress.
Senate Transportation Chairman John McGee, R-Caldwell, said it was "too bad" that the House killed the bill. First, the Senate passed McGee's bill. Then, the House, after a hearing in which committee members backed an amendment to make a first offense an infraction rather than a misdemeanor, introduced a new version of the bill making texting while driving just an infraction, whether on first or subsequent offenses. The Senate then amended that to keep it an infraction unless the offense involved an accident causing property damage or injury, in which case the offense would become a misdemeanor. Senators called that "middle ground." But Labrador said it was unacceptable.
Unlike any other bill this session, the texting measure drew support from young people across the state, who signed petitions and turned out en masse for hours-long hearings, supporting the bill. "I couldn't be more proud of the young people of this state by the hundreds who got engaged on this issue," McGee said. "When you look at the big picture, more legislators voted in favor of the concept this year than against. ... The Legislature is 105 people with 105 opinions, and I think the good news is that most people, most legislators saw the value. I was disappointed that the House killed the texting bill."
