AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas House has given final approval to a statewide ban on texting while driving, which now faces a Senate vote.
Representatives voted 104 to 39 on Thursday to pass the bill by Republican Rep. Tom Craddick, a former House Speaker who has sponsored similar legislation for the past two sessions.
This isn’t the first time the ban has passed the House. Representatives approved it in 2013, but it died in the Texas Senate.
In 2011, a similar proposal cleared the Legislature. But it was vetoed by former Gov. Rick Perry, who called it a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t said whether he’ll veto a ban. Some form of texting while driving already is prohibited in 44 states and 38 Texas cities.