Let the talk on talking while driving begin.

In advance of the Legislature’s upcoming special session, due to start July 18, the first bills were filed Monday, including the first to tackle statewide rules related to the use of handheld devices while driving, by State Sen. Bob Hall, R- Edgewood.

Lawmakers in the regular session, after a decade of debate, approved a statewide ban on texting while driving, set to take effect Sept. 1. The law, however, kept in place city rules related to wireless phone use while driving. Austin, Bellaire and about 100 other cities have passed cell phone bans, with many differences among the municipalities.

Gov. Greg Abbott cited the “patchwork” of regulations in adding the issue to the special session agenda.

NEW RULE: Texas ban on texting while driving takes effect Sept. 1

What remains unresolved is what, if anything, lawmakers will add to the state’s ban other than texting. There long has been skepticism about laws that manage driver behavior among many state representatives and senators. At the same time, many have said they want some sensible regulations.

If the state bans texting but lifts all the local rules, the effect in Texas could mean more people are injured or killed in distracted driving collisions, supporters of cell phone bans worry.

A number of states, including Florida and Oklahoma, also prohibit cities from enacting bans.

Hall’s bill would take the authority to ban handheld phone use away from cities, but not replace it with an outright ban. Instead, the bill as filed would create a Class C misdemeanor offense when someone is in a crash and it is determined he was engaged in an activity that “interferes with the driver’s ability to pay attention to the road.”

Hall’s proposal is not the only one expected. Sens. Don Huffines, R-Greenville and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, have signaled they will be filing bills related to phone use while driving, too.

Those bills, however, are likely to be on opposing ends of the issue. Huffines was a critic of the texting ban, saying it was “micromanaging” drivers to allow local laws to continue.

Zaffirini, a champion of the texting bill, has said she would propose the state ban all handheld phone use. An earlier proposal to ban all use failed to get a hearing in the regular session.