TALLAHASSEE -- Florida remains one of 15 states without a ban on sending text messages while driving, even as more people admit to the habit while supporting a law to deter it.

There’s a chance — a small one — that state lawmakers will enact a ban during the 60-day legislative session that will start in January. Experts, though, are split on whether the bans make the roads safer.

A few state senators breathed life into the conversation last week when they approved a proposed (and pretty mild) ban on texting while driving at the measure’s first committee hearing.

The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, would make texting while driving punishable as a secondary offense, meaning law enforcement could not pull over motorists simply if they see them texting. A citation could be issued only on top of some other offense, such as speeding, reckless driving or after a crash.

Bans have failed in Florida in recent years despite widespread public support for such a law. Defeat usually comes at the hands of Republicans who view the law as an intrusion on personal liberty. Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, famously blocked a proposed texting ban from being heard in her House committee in 2010, a move that killed the bill.

It is Detert’s third time sponsoring what she called her “no-brainer” idea, SB416. She is also a proponent of small government, she said, but not when privacy overrides public safety.

“I am a big fan of personal freedom, doing whatever you want in your own automobile, as long as you’re not taking me out with you,” she told the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

Members voted 10-0 to move her bill to its next stop. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, the committee chairman, said he originally planned to vote against it, but Detert’s proposal won him over with its specificity.

“I think it’s important we send this out of here with a loud message, so I’m going to vote with you today,” Latvala said.

Under Detert’s bill, it would still be OK to text at a red light, or use GPS, talk on the phone or dial a number while driving. The ban would extend to composing emails and instant messages.

The first violation would result in a $30 fine. A second violation within five years of the first would cost $60 and three points added to a driver’s license. Six points would be added if the use of a wireless communications device resulted in a crash.

Lobbyists from AAA, AT&T and AARP spoke in support of the measure.

Thirty-five states have introduced texting bans on all drivers. Other states have added restrictions for certain groups, such as teens and bus drivers. Florida has no such laws.

“It’s time that we caught up with the rest of the nation,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, during the committee meeting, “because texting is addictive.”

Drivers have conflicting views: Asked by pollsters, they overwhelmingly say texting while driving should be illegal. But more and more admit to sending text messages while at the wheel.

A national survey released by the federal government Thursday found that about 50 percent of U.S. drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 reported texting or emailing while driving. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood called on Congress this week to enact a national ban on texting while driving.