A cell phone ban for driving teens -- originally passed through the Utah Legislature but pulled back for technical fixes -- failed Thursday when a House and Senate conference committee couldn't reach agreement before the session end.

HB113 would have banned phoning while driving for kids 17 and under. The ban was weakened by several amendments; first so that it wouldn't be a primary offense worthy of being pulled over; second, to allow talking to parents or other responsible adults; and finally to change the offense from a class C misdemeanor to a ticket.

That last change wouldn't work, said Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, because it made distracted driving by adults -- a misdemeanor -- a more serious crime than it would be for teens. Romero pulled the bill back from the governor's office, and then failed to get House members to back the final version. Ultimately, he said, the House members on the conference committee simply didn't favor a ban of any kind.

Romero said he believes the debate may help parents learn to caution their children against the practice even without a bill.

"Hopefully it brought conversations to the kitchen table about being careful and judicious with the phone," he said.

He'll also try again next session, perhaps using some of the suggestions he heard from colleagues. One of those would be to allow police to pull over teens merely because they're phoning while driving, but to make the penalty a ticket instead of a misdemeanor.

Still, he said, he's unsure why some House members objected to the class C offense because it's the same category of crime as speeding.