Prefiled Bills Include Cigarette Tax Increase, Driving While Texting Ban

State lawmakers don’t go back into session until next month, but they’re already filing bills that could have a big impact on you if they become law. This was the final day for House members to pre-file bills before the session.

One of the bills would ban the use of cell phones while driving unless you use a hands-free device. It would also make it illegal to text while driving. Rep. Chris Hart, D-Columbia, is the sponsor of the bill, saying he thinks it would decrease the number of traffic accidents and fatalities in the state. “Many times, I’m on the highway, on the street traveling, going from work to home and people aren’t driving. They’re texting, they’re on the phone, and they’re completely oblivious to their surroundings,“ he says.

Another bill would expand the state’s concealed weapons law to allow anyone to carry a gun, as long as they’re not a felon or otherwise prohibited from having a gun. Rep. Dan Cooper of Piedmont is the main sponsor of the bill, saying, “People who are going to use guns to commit crimes don’t care whether they’re violating a right-to-carry law or not. All you’re preventing is law-abiding citizens from being able to defend themselves.“ He says his bill is modeled after Vermont’s law, which has been in place for years and has not caused problems. In fact, Vermont has the second-lowest violent crime rate in the nation.

Lawmakers will also try again to raise the state cigarette tax, which is now the lowest in the nation at 7 cents a pack. Two bills would raise the tax by 30 cents a pack, with one using the money for nursing scholarships and the other using it for smoking cessation and health care. Lawmakers passed a cigarette tax increase this year but Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed it, and lawmakers fell just a few votes short of overriding his veto.

There are also bills to ban payday lending or lower the maximum interest rate lenders could charge to 36 percent.

Read all the prefiled bills