By Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
In Summary:
State Sen. Erin Grall has refiled legislation that would expand Florida’s texting-while-driving ban to prohibit holding or physically supporting a handheld device while operating a vehicle. The bill would make it illegal for drivers to hold phones, rest them on their laps, or use other handheld electronic devices, with escalating fines and license penalties for repeat violations. If approved, the law would take effect on October 1, though the proposal currently lacks a House companion.
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A Florida bill banning drivers from holding their phones while driving was re-filed Tuesday, one week before the start of the 2026 legislative session.
Related: The growing impact of negligent driving on public safety.
Republican Sen. Erin Grall’s bill, revived from last session, would expand the Sunshine State’s ban on texting while driving to cover holding or “supporting” a handheld device while on the road.
This means drivers would not be able to make calls from their phones, hold them, or even rest them on their laps if the bill becomes law. If passed, it would take effect on October 1.
“‘Handheld manner’ means holding a wireless communications device in one or both hands or physically supporting the device with any other part of the body,” SB 1152 reads. These devices could range from phones to laptops to gaming devices.
The bill would not apply to first responders or include small radios or in-vehicle systems.
Drivers who violate the law while moving through either a school zone or past construction workers would be slapped with a $150 fine and 3 points off their licenses. A subsequent offense would include a $250 fine and 3 additional points on the license, and a third offense would include a $500 fine, 4 additional points on the license, and a 90-day license suspension.
Tallahassee resident Demetrius Branca has been a leading advocate for a hands-free driving law that would mirror those of 30 other states, plus Washington, D.C. In 2014, Branca’s 19-year-old son, Anthony, while on his way to Tallahassee State College, was killed by a distracted Comcast driver.
During the 2024 session, when the measure passed the House but was never scheduled in the Senate, Branca blasted then-chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Nick DiCeglie, during a Pinellas County legislative delegation meeting. The two engaged in a sharp exchange, but DiCeglie changed course when the bill reemerged during the 2025 legislative session, the Phoenix previously reported.
“I looked at the statistics,” DiCeglie said at the time. “I looked at the data, and I looked at what 31 other states did. And I thought of you, and I thought of your son, Anthony.”
Although it passed the Senate that time around, the legislation was never scheduled in the House — a reversal from the year before. Branca blamed Rep. Linda Chaney, who chaired one of the committees that was supposed to see the bill.
“You stopped it cold,” Branca told her at a Pinellas County legislative meeting. “After all the work, all the testimony, all the grieving parents who begged you to act. You chose not to let it through. That was not leadership, that was political cowardice, and I’m standing here to look you in the eye and tell you to your face.”
In 2023, distracted driving resulted in the deaths of 3,275 people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reported that “texting is the most alarming distraction.”
This year, Grall’s bill has yet to have a House companion.
Her office did not immediately return a request for comment. The 2026 session begins on January 13.
Key Points:
- The bill would prohibit drivers from holding or using handheld devices while driving.
- Violations in school zones or construction zones would carry increased fines and license points.
- Repeat offenses could result in higher fines and a temporary license suspension.
- The proposal is backed by advocates who cite thousands of annual deaths linked to distracted driving.
- The bill has been refiled ahead of the 2026 legislative session, but does not yet have a House companion.
