TransportationCurated by Aman Batheja
While dozens of Texas cities have passed texting-while-driving bans over the past decade, efforts to pass a statewide ban have failed repeatedly. 2015 was no exception.
State Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, has been the most outspoken supporter of a statewide ban, and has tried year after year to pass legislation outlawing it. Most other states already have a statewide law on the books.
In Texas, it is currently illegal to use a mobile device in any capacity while driving in a school zone. Drivers under 18 are also barred from texting and driving.
In the 2015 session, Craddick's House Bill 80 would have made it a misdemeanor statewide to use a portable wireless device for reading, writing or sending a text while driving. It passed the House easily in late March, but lacked the votes needed to bring it to the Senate floor ahead of a legislative deadline.
Updated: June 10, 2015
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The Texas Legislative Guide was designed and developed by Becca Aaronson, Emily Albracht, Daniel Craigmile, Annie Daniel, Ben Hasson and Ryan Murphy for The Texas Tribune. The Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that promotes civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government and other matters of statewide concern.