Ban on texting while driving among other new Virginia laws

New laws take effect Wednesday

-Ban reading or sending text messages or e-mails while driving.

-Allow voters to wear political T-shirts, buttons or other apparel to the polls.

-Prohibit stores from selling novelty cigarette lighters to those under 18.

-Allow courts to suspend the driver’s licenses of teens who miss 10 consecutive days of school.

-Impose a 10 percent tax on pay-per-view movies in Virginia hotel rooms, with the money divided evenly between the general fund and a pool of money that provides incentives for filmmakers to shoot movies in Virginia.

-Bar public access to a statewide database of Virginians with permits to carry concealed handguns. The public still could get information on concealed carry permit holders at each circuit court.

-Bar payday lenders from offering different types of loans in an effort to get around tough new restrictions placed on the short-term, high-interest loans.

RICHMOND — Message to drivers who text or e-mail on the road: put the phone down or pay up.

Virginia will join 13 other states and the District of Columbia that have banned texting while driving when the new law and hundreds of others legislators passed this winter take effect Wednesday.

Safe driving advocates said texting or e-mailing while driving significantly increases the chances of getting into a wreck.

Del. John A. Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, the bill’s sponsor, cited a crash in Florida this spring when the driver of a tractor-trailer hit a school bus while text messaging his wife, killing one student and injuring several others.

“There is no message other than ‘I’m in serious, serious jeopardy’ that is worth that type of risk,” he said.

Those who text or e-mail while driving can receive a $20 fine or $50 for a second offense, but drivers can only receive a citation if they were pulled over for another offense. The law makes an exception for emergency responders like paramedics or police officers or those reporting an emergency.

Restaurant smoking ban won’t take effect until Dec. 1

Those frustrated that they can no longer pluck away at their handhelds during rush hour can take solace in knowing they can light up at their favorite restaurant for another five months.

The General Assembly’s historic curbs on smoking in restaurants and bars will not take effect until Dec. 1. Then, restaurants that intend to allow smoking must confine it to closed, separately ventilated rooms or open-air decks or patios outside. Private clubs are exempt.

Lawmakers put off the effective date to give restaurant owners who wish to retain a smoking section enough time to make modifications. They also wanted to make sure the ban would not be fresh on voters’ minds when they go to the polls in November to pick all 100 House of Delegates seats.

No novelty lighters to minors

Beginning Wednesday, stores will no longer be allowed to sell novelty cigarette lighters to juveniles. The lighters resembling cartoon characters, toys, guns or other things children might find amusing must be kept out of reach to the public, and any clerk who sells one to a minor will face up to a $100 fine.

Maine became the first state to ban novelty lighters last year, and several states have followed.

The bill was backed by firefighters, but opponents argued it didn’t make sense to ban them because children can still buy regular lighters.

Absent teens may lose licenses; no mopeds on interstates; political clothing OK at polls

New laws will allow courts to suspend a minor’s driver’s license if the student misses 10 consecutive days of school and will prohibit mopeds from being driven on interstates.

Lawmakers also stepped in to settle a dispute between the Virginia State Board of Elections and civil rights groups that sued over the board’s ruling last fall that voters could not wear political T-shirts, buttons or other paraphernalia to the polls.

The board cited a state law that outlaws electioneering within 40 feet of the polling place. Opponents said the rule violated free speech rights. Lawmakers decided the political apparel was OK, and the groups recently dropped their lawsuit.

Concealed-carry permits easier to get

Beginning Wednesday it will be easier for gun owners to get a concealed carry permit. Legislators overrode Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s veto of a bill that will allow those applying for a permit to complete the required firearms training online or by video.

Kaine objected because there was no way to prove the person who wants the permit is the one who completed the course.

‘Choose Life’ license plate approved

And while every year there are laws passed to create specialty license plates for various causes or organizations — there are more than 200 available — legislators approved one this year to establish a “Choose Life” plate for abortion opponents.

Virginia joins 23 other states that offer the “Choose Life” plate — some after lengthy court battles.

The plate passed despite abortion rights advocates’ warnings that it would funnel money into unlicensed, anti-abortion pregnancy clinics.

After the first 1,000 plates are sold, $15 of the $25 annual fee would go to a handful of crisis pregnancy centers supported by Heartbeat International, a Christian pregnancy resource organization.

Under state law, more than 350 people must sign up for a plate before the Department of Motor Vehicles can produce it.

A DMV spokeswoman said there had been some inquiries about the plate, but that the department would not begin processing applications until after Wednesday. Shawn Doran of the Richmond Coalition for Life, which pushed for the plate, said the organization has received more than 500 prepaid applications.