A proposed statewide ban on texting while driving passed the Texas House on April 17 after a three-hour floor battle and one nearly successful attempt to gut the bill entirely.

The legislation by former House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, would ban instant messaging, texting, reading and emailing from a handheld device while driving. It would not ban talking on the phone, and it would not affect a current statewide ban on using cell phones in school zones.

"I am elated that we are one step closer to a statewide ban on texting becoming the law of the land," Craddick said after the 98-47 vote. "Texting while driving is dangerous. No text message or email is important enough to risk injury or death on the road."

The bill is set for a final vote April 18 and then heads to the Senate.

Opponents of the bill said it would encourage racial profiling. They also said it is unenforceable because it only bans texting, not using a GPS or other doing anything else on the phone while driving, so it would be hard to prove the driver was texting—and yet it puts a burden the motorist to fight the $100 fine.

"I can be playing Angry Birds, and that's legal," said Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, who voted against the bill. "I can be balancing my checkbook, and that's legal. It's just texting. It's unenforceable."

The bill is not about the driver or creating another crime, and the debate should not focus on that, said Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Houston, one of the bill's co-authors.

"This is not about getting tickets or breaking the law," Harless said. "This is about protecting lives."

The legislation makes exceptions for texts that are emergencies, or for drivers who glance at a text because they believe it could be an emergency, such a loved one going into labor.

The House rejected amendments that would have only allowed police to pull over a driver if the driver was breaking a different law, such as speeding, or that would have created a defense for the ticket if the police had stopped the driver primarily because he or she was texting behind the wheel.

The probable cause defense amendment was defeated 74-70, with proponents saying it would deter police from using texting as an excuse to pull people over for no valid reason. Opponents said it would remove the impetus for police to stop texters if the law made it too easy to fight the ticket.

Some 39 states and Washington, D.C,. have passed bans on texting while driving, and Congress recently passed a law that would send money to states that pass distracted driving laws, including texting bans.