Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday for the second year in a row vetoed a bill that would have raised the fine for drivers who illegally use cellphones. The bill, Senate Bill 1310 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, would have increased the base fine from $20 for a first offense [...]
A Palo Alto state senator again is trying to raise the fine on motorists who illegally use cellphones and, for the first time, to fine bicyclists who text or talk on a hand-held phone. The state Senate on Monday approved 24-9 legislation by Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian calling for the [...]
The state Senate today passed a bill that will make it a lot more expensive to illegally use a cellphone or to text while driving -- or while bicycling. The legislation, Senate Bill 28 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who hasn't said whether [...]
If you text or hold your cellphone while driving or riding your bicycle, you might face a steep increase in fines. The state Senate on Monday approved 24-12 a bill that would raise the base fine of a driver’s first violation to $50, which with fees would total about $300 [...]
Sonoma County police agencies today are joining with dozens of departments around the state in the latest crackdown on drivers texting or not going hands free on their cellphones. Santa Rosa police, for example, will have 18 officers today devoted to looking for violators, Sgt. Rich Celli said. Of those, [...]
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 [...]