The General Assembly passed a bill banning texting, which now goes to the desk of Governor Martin O’Malley, who is expected to approve it. Reading a text message will be exempted from the ban because of the difficulty of determining whether a motorist is reading a text message or a cell-phone number. The law goes into effect on October 1st, and the maximum penalty will be $500. Officers will not need the commission of another traffic violation to pull over a text-messaging motorist.