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Good legislation – Our view: This should be the norm

Congratulations to Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, and all the lawmakers in the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives. The so-called hands-free bill making it illegal to drive a vehicle while holding a cell phone is a solid piece of bipartisan legislation. It seems well-crafted and reasonable.
The House and Senate passed versions of the bill. A conference committee ironed out the differences between the two bills and Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law. It goes into effect Aug. 1.
This is a good piece of legislation on so many levels. It addresses the growing number of crashes – injury and fatality – attributed to drivers paying more attention to their cell phones than the road and traffic around them.
The bill prohibits drivers from using their hands to operate a cell phone while in traffic. It contains reasonable exceptions, like calling 911 for emergency assistance. It allows drivers to take advantage of available technology to operate the phone via voice commands while driving or Bluetooth technology in a vehicle.
The fine for a first violation is only $50, a reasonable amount to send the driver a strong message using a cell phone while driving is unsafe. Violate the law again and the fine jumps to $275. If that doesn’t catch your attention, well, you just aren’t paying attention and perhaps shouldn’t enjoy driving privileges in Minnesota.
We’ve all made phone calls, read or sent text messages while the car is in motion using our hands. At a high speed, the driver’s attention is not where it should be for hundreds of feet.
Perhaps the most refreshing portion of this legislation is it serves as proof that DFLers and Republicans can work together when the issue is important enough. Tah-dah. To their credit, Newman and Hornstein, the chairmen of the Senate and House transportation committees, knew they were the right people to carry the legislation in their respective chambers. These men have strong philosophical differences of opinion on important issues that need to be addressed. They put those differences aside to craft legislation intended to address an issue more important than their own partisan ideologies. It can be done, folks.
Citizens of Minnesota want compromise to occur more often. Need proof? Wait for the outrage should another special session this spring be needed to address even the most basic issues. For those of us who would like to see bipartisan legislation on major issues impact everyone become the norm, whether they intended to or not, Sen. Newman and Rep. Hornstein have given us hope.
Thank you, gentlemen. Please, keep up the good work.
-jm