Texting a message while driving would be a secondary offense punishable by $100 as part of compromise legislation that unanimously moved out of the Senate Transportation Committee, 4-0.

The movement of two bills to the Senate floor sets the stage for a vote to ban texting while driving. Even though Committee Chair Jud GILBERT (R-Algonac) isn't opposed to making texting and driving an offense police could pull a driver over for, he said he realizes there isn't support in the House.

The House version set the fine at $500, but the version reported Tuesday ratchets that fine down to $100. The plan is to make the bills a bi-cameral, bi-partisan package and today's action lines up a final vote on that plan.

Heather DRAKE from AAA of Michigan said her group preferred making it a primary traffic offense, but repeated the mantra that something was "better than nothing" as she held out the hope that down the road it could become a primary offense. Remember, the mandatory seat belt law started as a secondary offense. Twenty years later, it moved to a primary offense.