House Democrats tried late Wednesday to force an immediate vote on banning hand-held cell phone use while driving in Minnesota but Republicans refused. Minneapolis D-F-Ler Frank Hornstein told his colleagues, “This bill saves lives. It’s urgent that we get this bill passed today.” Champlin Republican Mark Uglem responded it’s a very important bill, “but today is not the day. This is not the time. We are working on this. We still have some time left in the session. I feel that we can move forward.”
There’s talk of stiffening penalties for distracted driving and beefing up driver education.