The push to ban hand-held cellphone use for Arizona drivers cleared a major hurdle Wednesday at the Capitol.

House Speaker Rusty Bowers announced the proposal would go to the House floor for a vote — something that supporters were worried wouldn't happen. The vote is set to take place Thursday.

Supporters say this was the last major challenge to getting a law on the books. They say the votes are there in the House and Gov. Doug Ducey supports it.

Ducey again indicated his support on Wednesday.

"This is an issue where we need to catch up as a state and make sure we’re protecting and providing the proper public safety on our roads," Ducey said.

Full cellphone ban for drivers has most support

Three bills on the issue of phone use behind the wheel are running through the state Legislature, and all are expected to be considered by the House on Thursday.

The one with the support needed to get to the governor's desk would ban all hand-held cellphone use for drivers, and make it a primary offense, meaning that officers could pull over drivers for this reason alone, according to the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott.

The proposal, House Bill 2318, would prohibit drivers talking, texting, typing or browsing social media sites on their phone, unless they are using the device in a hands-free mode.

Drivers wouldn't be able to hold a cellphone at all, or even prop it on their shoulder. The proposed ban would apply to any kind of portable wireless communication device or stand-alone electronic device.

The proposal is backed by law enforcement in the state and families of victims who have died at the hands of distracted drivers. That includes the family of Salt River tribal police Officer Clayton Townsend, who was struck and killed by a distracted driver in January.

The fact that this version of the proposal will make it onto the House floor is a major victory for supporters, who were most worried that House Republicans would not let it happen.

"We are one step closer than we were and one step closer than we have ever been," Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, said. "I thank the speaker for finding a way forward."

If that version makes it out of the House Thursday, the last step is the governor's signature.

Secondary offense proposal expected

The other two bills expected to go to a House vote Thursday are Senate Bill 1141 and Senate Bill 1165. Here's a look at each:

SB 1141 would ban all types of distracted driving, but not specifically cellphone use. The bill sponsor, state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the law should address all dangerous distractions while driving. Opponents argue it would be too hard to enforce cellphone use under Mesnard's proposal.

would ban all types of distracted driving, but not specifically cellphone use. The bill sponsor, state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the law should address all dangerous distractions while driving. Opponents argue it would be too hard to enforce cellphone use under Mesnard's proposal. SB1165, introduced by Brophy McGee, is a mirror to Campbell's proposal. But on Wednesday, House Republicans indicated that, when they heard that bill on Thursday, they would introduce an amendment that would make handheld cellphone use while driving a secondary offense. This would mean officers couldn't pull drivers over just because they were on their phone.

This proposed amendment was announced after House Republicans met in a closed session to discuss the proposals.

But it's unlikely that version, making it a secondary offense, will go anywhere as it lacks Brophy McGee's support.

Laws that ban cellphone use as a secondary offense are proven to not be "workable," she said.

Ducey on Wednesday asked House Republicans considering different versions to "listen to the Townsend family and what they’ve been through."

"An accident like this is avoidable," he said.

MORE:Cellphone ban forces drivers (yes, like me) to hang up and drive

Why a primary offense?

Supporters of the ban say that it needs to be a primary offense because it won't change driver behavior if it's a secondary offense.

Oro Valley Police Commander Chris Olson said it doesn't make sense to tell drivers that it's OK to drive distracted if they are able to do it safely — that's like telling someone it's OK to speed if they are able to speed safely.

Oro Valley, and many other Arizona cities and counties, have laws banning hand-held cellphone use while driving.

Changing driver behavior related to cellphone use is important to making roads safer, he said.

Brendan Lyons, executive director of LOOK! Save A Life, said it wouldn't make sense for the state to have it as a secondary offense, for many reasons.

Most of all, at least 26 municipalities in Arizona have related laws on the books that are all primary offenses, he said.

Tempe is the latest metro Phoenix city to make it a primary offense.

Cities increasingly have approved bans on driver cellphone use as state lawmakers failed to act on a ban for more than a decade. Arizona is one of just three states without a texting ban for all drivers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Sixteen states and D.C. ban all hand-held cellphone use while driving.

Reporter Maria Polletta contributed to this story.

Reach the reporter at jen.fifield@azcentral.com or at 602-444-8763. Follow her on Twitter @JenAFifield.

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