COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After eight years of trying to persuade his fellow lawmakers in the South Carolina House to require hands-free cellphone use while driving, a little pain might have helped Rep. Bill Taylor get his bill passed Wednesday.
Taylor told the House that the federal government was talking about withholding up to $50 million in highway money to the state if it did not join more than 30 others and ban people from holding cellphones as they drive.
The bill won approval. on an 85-25 vote with most of the opposition from Republicans who were long been concerned the idea was another example of government overreach.
The proposal will soon head to the Senate, where it has been approved overwhelmingly in previous sessions.
“They're driving blind. They are not looking at the road. They are six times more dangerous than a drunken driver. That has to stop,” said Taylor, a Republican who has pushed the bill for eight years and stopped riding his motorcycle because of distracted drivers.
South Carolina and North Carolina are the only states on the East Coast that allow drivers to hold cellphones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Many of the states that don't have a ban are in the middle of the country.
The bill doesn't ban cellphone use while driving. The phone can be used remotely through a Bluetooth device or in a cradle or even a cupholder.
First offense would be a $100 fine and any offense after that would trigger a $200 fine. There would be six months after the bill becomes law during which police could only write warning tickets.
Taylor wanted violators after a first offense to get two points added to their driving record, but that was taken out of the bill by lawmakers who did not want to see insurance rates go up for people who are ticketed.
Taylor hopes the Senate restores that provision, adding he feels that's the only punishment that will get people's attention.
“It should be six points because this is dangerous, deadly driving,” Taylor said.
South Carolina Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, asks a question during a debate on a bill banning people from holding cellphones while driving on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
The rock band R.E.M. is putting out a special rerelease of its first single, “Radio Free Europe,” to benefit — wait for it — the actual Radio Free Europe.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is among the U.S. government-funded media services that deliver news in overseas markets. President Donald Trump's administration, claiming they are wasteful and promote a liberal point of view, is trying to choke off their funding.
A federal judge this week ordered the Republican administration to restore $12 million to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that was appropriated by Congress. Lawyers for the service, which has been operating for 75 years, said it would be forced to shut down in June without the money.
In the first line of its song “Radio Free Europe,” R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe sings: "Decide for yourself if radio's going to stay.”
“Whether it's music or a free press — censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere,” Stipe said on Friday. “On World Press Freedom Day, I'm sending a shout-out to the brave journalists at Radio Free Europe.”
Stephen Capus, RFE/RL president, said R.E.M.'s music has always represented a celebration of freedom to him. He said inspiring and upholding freedom to audiences that might not always experience it is the goal of his organization's journalists.
Released on a tiny independent label, the “Radio Free Europe” single was the first the world had heard from the Athens, Georgia-based band, whose career eventually took it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band called it quits in 2011.
The song was later inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for setting the pattern for independent rock releases at the time.
The five-song EP will include the original recording of the song and a remix made this year by the band's collaborator Jacknife Lee. It will also contain three other songs made at the same time: the single's B-side, “Sitting Still”; the instrumental “Wh. Tornado”; and a previously unreleased “Radio Free Dub” remix.
The producer of the original recording session, Mitch Easter, is supervising this year's rerelease. It's available for streaming on Friday, and a special vinyl pressing can be bought at independent record stores and R.E.M.'s mail order store. Proceeds from all vinyl sales go to RFE/RL.
David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
FILE - Michael Stipe, of the band R.E.M., center, speaks as he accepts the Video Vanguard award during the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Sept. 7, 1995. Standing by are fellow band members, from left, Mike Mills, Peter buck and Bill Berry. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
