A state senator has failed in his effort to require bicyclists to stop using hand-held cell phones and to double fines for motorists who don’t go hands-free.

Legislation by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, passed the state Senate in June but it got bottled up in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and was killed Thursday. That action came just days after a Bay Area crackdown by the CHP on drivers illegally using cell phones.

Simitian told the Sacramento Bee he was “at a bit of a loss” over why the bill was killed, and the committee staffer handling the bill did not respond to repeated Road Warrior requests for comment.

The bill would have, for the first time, created a fine for bicyclists for not going hands-free while using cell phones while riding. The first offense would have cost $20 and subsequent offenses $50.

The legislation also would have increased the base fine for motorists from the current $20 for the first offense to $50 for not using a hands-free device. Subsequent offenses would have doubled to $100 from the current $50.

As Road Warrior readers know, that $20 fine for drivers really turns out to be $142 after all kinds of county and state fees are tacked on. Click here to read the story about all of the fees.

Bicyclists, under Simitian’s bill, would not have paid the extra fees, only the fine.