Sacramento's Cell Phone Money Grab

Apparently we're going to fund the government on backs of cellphone users:

Motorists who talk and text on their hand-held phones while driving could face fees up to $500 under a bill approved by the state Senate on Monday.

The base fine would increase from $20 to $50 per violation under the bill, which now goes to the Assembly. Once penalties and fees are tacked on, a first offense would cost approximately $309.

A repeat offender could be fined $100, or more than $500 with the added fees. A subsequent violation would also add one point to the motorist's driving record.

Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who authored the bill, said he expects that stiffer penalties will further deter motorists from violating the hands-free law.

"Compliance to date has been good," said Simitian, "but there's room for improvement. I think this will make a good law even better."

Well, if going from $300 to $500 would "make a good law even better", wouldn't increasing the fine to $10,000 make it that much better? Or $100,000? Simitian's logic is terribly flawed. This is nothing more than another money grab, and you can expect local and state law enforcement to be ordered to aggressively look for violators to build the state's coffers.