Earlier this week, Governor Ralph Northam (D) announced that he would be amending a bill passed by the General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session to prohibit drivers from holding a cell phone or personal communications device in highway work zones to apply the measure statewide – in any situation outside of a work zone. However, the push to ban all drivers from holding a cell phone may not pass muster as the governor could be “out of order” pertaining to his proposed amendment.
Currently, Virginia drivers are only prohibited from reading emails or text messages on a device and manually entering letters or text in the device, with certain exceptions for emergency personnel. S.B. 1768, introduced by State Senator Monty Mason (D-Williamsburg), was passed by both chambers in the General Assembly in late February to prohibit drivers from holding a cell phone or any other handheld personal communications device in a highway work zone, with exceptions for those driving “emergency vehicles.”
During the session, lawmakers in Richmond failed to pass a “hands-free driving” bill that would have outlawed holding a cell phone or other personal communications device while driving. However, Governor Northam, after being pressured by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and other advocacy groups, is setting his sights on placing a full statewide ban on holding a cell phone while driving.
According to a report from NBC 12, that effort is said by House Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) to be predestined to fail. Parker Slaybaugh, a spokesman for Speaker Cox, explains that Northam’s proposal is “not germane to the original legislation related only to work zones,” noting that legislators already failed to pass the sweeping prohibition on driving while holding a cell phone.
The General Assembly is set to convene on April 3 to discuss changes to other legislation and vetoes from the governor.