(Des Moines) Advocates and senators at a Statehouse meeting Wednesday said they were hopeful that 2025 will be the year the Legislature can finally pass a hands-free cellphone bill for drivers.
Senate File 22 passed unanimously out of subcommittee Wednesday. It’s the latest attempt by Iowa lawmakers to establish fines for drivers handling cellphones when they’re behind the wheel except in hands-free or voice-activated modes. Versions of the bill have been proposed each session for several years, passed by the Senate but stalling in the House despite having bipartisan support in the chamber.
Sen. Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine, said he believes “this is the year we’re going to get this done.” At the start of session, Gov. Kim Reynolds brought up hands-free bill as a priority in her Condition of the State address and asked lawmakers for support of a measure that she said will help prevent traffic deaths in Iowa.
“For the sake of all our loved ones on the road, let’s finally pass legislation that requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road and away from their phones,” Reynolds said.
At the subcommittee meeting, advocates representing law enforcement, legal and insurance groups all spoke in support of the bill. Other speakers also shared their personal experiences with distracted drivers and called for action that could prevent people from looking at their phones while driving.
Judith Collora told lawmakers about the devastation she and her family went through after her daughter was killed in 2023 by a driver who was texting.
“Many people think that we don’t have a law against texting and driving because we don’t have a hands-free law,” Collora said. “So we are here to ask you to please pass this law so that people know that it’s not just about being on the phone, but also texting. There should never be any young person or any person in this state that has to lose their life because someone chooses to text instead of drive.”
Texting while driving is illegal in Iowa, but law enforcement officials say current distracted-driving laws are hard to enforce because it is still legal for drivers to hold their phones to make calls or look up GPS directions.
“The current texting (law) presents a lot of challenges with enforcement, and we applaud the governor and the legislative leadership in taking this up this year and trying to get something passed that helps keep our communities more safe,” Chad McCluskey, representing the Iowa Police Chiefs Association, said.
Lofgren said he is “monitoring the House” for action on the bill, and that he is working to ensure both chambers are “totally in agreement” before sending it to the floor to ensure the bill passes. House Speaker Pat Grassley told reporters after Reynolds’ speech that House Republicans are open to considering the measure again this session, though he did not weigh in on if a hands-free bill would have sufficient support to pass the House.
“For me personally, I’ve kind of moved into a position of, if we can do something in a responsible way and look at what some other states have done to find a balance, I think it’s something that I would be supportive of,” Grassley said.
