CONCORD, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) A House panel will hear testimony this week on a bill that Keene’s own Senator Donovan Fenton is the chief author of. It’s part of a duo of bills that this house panel will hear testimony on this week, with the other hoping to raise penalties for those who refuse a blood alcohol test after being pulled over for suspected impaired driving.

The bill authored by Fenton, as well as five other senators and four representatives, looks to raise the penalty for those who are pulled over for distracted driving, particularly increasing fines and license suspensions for people who were using a handheld phone while driving. Four of the five senator co-sponsors on this bill are on the opposite side of the aisle of Fenton, as he is a Democrat.

“I work very closely with my Republican colleagues,” Fenton said this past Saturday on WKBK’s What’s Happening Program. “If you look at my bills, almost 90 percent of them have Republican co-sponsors, if not more Republican co-sponsors than Democratic co-sponsors.”

Under the new rules imposed by this bill, the financial penalty for being pulled over for distracted driving due to a handheld cellphone would increase from $100 to $250 for the first offense, $250 to $500 for a second offense within 24 months, and $500 to $750 for a third offense within 24 months. In addition, the third offense would also come with a license suspension of 30 days.

If the distracted driving led to a crash, the fines would go up by $250 for each offense, and if on a third offense it led to a crash, a license would be suspended for 60 days rather than 30. If enacted, this bill could potentially increase revenue into the highway fund, though according to the language of the bill “…the amount of a potential increase is indeterminable as the number of infractions cannot be predicted as it is unknown if this bill will change driver behavior.”

“Distracted driving continues to be one of the most preventable causes of crashes on our roads. SB 649 is about strengthening accountability for repeat offenders and making it clear that using a hand-held device while driving puts everyone at risk,” Fenton said. “Even one life lost to distracted driving is too many, and this bill is intended to reinforce the seriousness of that behavior and help keep New Hampshire’s roads safer.”

The Department of Safety has said that this bill requires updates to its systems and processes so it could accurately reflect the new fine structure and license suspension protocols, and as such would need to overhaul the system it is currently working with. The DMV estimates “a one-time expenditure of $48,000 to implement these changes.”

Fenton is a member of the Governor’s Highway Safety Task Force and said he has “consistently heard from law enforcement, safety advocates and first responders that the current penalties often are not enough to change behavior, particularly for repeat violations.”

This bill has already passed the Senate and now goes before the House panel for final recommendation before going to the full House of Representatives. This season of the New Hampshire Legislative Session will end around the beginning of June.