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• "Texting and driving is a public safety concern," they wrote. "When motorists divert their attention from the road and their driving responsibilities, accidents can happen. It would not surprise us at all if the recent Sioux Falls City Council vote influenced a bill with the legislation for a statewide texting ban."
• District I State Rep. Susan Wismer said she does think a proposal for a ban is likely to come up this year in the S.D. Legislature, but passing such a bill would not be easy.
• "Remember, this is a state where voters fought seat belt and helmet laws," Wismer said. "It will be a hot topic."
• Wismer said she will consider the recommendation of the Department of Public Safety when deciding whether to support such a bill.
• District I Sen. Jason Frerichs would support a ban, but its ultimate success depends on the makeup of the Legislature after the November elections.
• "I'll support a bill because I've seen statistics where about 60 percent of the people will follow a new law, and that will save lives," he explained. "At the end of the day it all comes down to who gets elected. If more moderates win it could pass, but if more Tea Party types get in, it may not. It's always interesting to see who comes out against this. Usually its legislators on the far right and left."
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• Enforcement wouldn't be easy
• Enforcement is where the discussion gets sticky.
• With state laws currently on the books, if a driver is veering or otherwise driving erratically, police can cite the driver for careless driving. The Sioux Falls ordinance is set up as a primary offense: Officers can pull over drivers for texting while driving, even if they were not driving carelessly.
• According to the ordinance, police would have to see a handheld device before they could make a stop. However, since those devices could also be used for legal purposes such as making calls or using GPS, the  decision to pull a driver over would be partly a police officer's judgment call.
• "People should definitely not text and drive, but it will be difficult to enforce, as it would be hard to prove," said Clark County Sheriff Rob McGraw.
• Webster senior Shala Larson sees some potential problems ahead. "I feel that if they did this (ban), law enforcement could take advantage of it, and there would be a lot of false arrests (for texting and driving)," Larson said.
• McGraw added that carrier records could be subpoenaed if necessary to show that the driver was texting, but that's not likely unless the driver was involved in a major accident.

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