DES MOINES, Iowa — After failing to get out of the Iowa House chamber last legislative session, the hands-free driving bill is back in the Iowa Senate advancing out of subcommittee on Wednesday.

Advocates filled the room asking for Iowa lawmakers to pass this bill out of both chambers and get it signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

“This has been the most horrible experience of our lifetime. And there’s no reason that anyone should lose their life because someone else chooses to text instead of drive,” said Judi Collora, from Henry County. Collora lost her 30-year-old daughter in 2023 to a driver that was speeding and on their phone.

“You do not have to be on that phone when you’re driving. There’s a side of the road. Pull over and use it. You don’t have to be on the phone, it’s not necessary,” said Berta Pearson, from Mount Pleasant. Pearson lost her grandson in 2022 in an instance of distracted driving in Burlington. Her grandson got hit by someone texting and speeding. “It’s a matter of life and death and not yours, the people that are on the road.”

These two unfortunately met under their current circumstances, and are meeting with Iowa House lawmakers during this session to make sure the bill does not get held up in that chamber again. Both Pearson and Collora said that the more time that is taken the more lives will be lost.

The bill would allow for mobile device use while driving in a way that the individual’s hands would be free to drive, meaning voice command. The bill ramps up the fine from $45 to $100, and if a serious injury or death occurs the fine would range from $500 to $1,000 and the court would be able to suspend the individual’s drivers license.

Police and sheriff associations have advocated for change to Iowa’s current law to make it more enforceable.

Governor Reynolds highlighted her support for the legislation in her Condition of the State speech this year. The three lawmakers on the subcommittee on Wednesday believed that this year could be the year with the governor’s support.

The bill now heads to the Judiciary committee in the Iowa Senate, a version does not yet exist in the Iowa House.

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