New Hefty Fines Facing Cigarette Butt Flickers

Hold on...before you either start celebrating or cursing this news, we're talking about Illinois, but could this pave the way for updated laws and fines for other states? 

Disposing of cigarette butts by flicking them out of a vehicle is illegal under the statutes of littering in most all states, and the 'flicker' could face upwards up a $500 fine in Texas, however, enforcing this is problematic and would take up many law enforcement resources.

However, it's estimated that every year cigarette butts make up nearly 1.7 billion pounds of toxic, non-biodegradable trash.  Plus, there's evidence every year of fires, large and small, that were caused by smoldering butts littered on dry, grassy areas.  So, with that in mind, some states are considering raising the priority of enforcing this type of littering.

On January 1st, Illinois will be raising the fines for those caught leaving their butts on the ground.  1st and 2nd time offenders will face up to a $1500 fine, and if you're arrested a 3rd time, get ready for upwards of a $25,000 fine.  But, are law officers willing to make these arrests.  Apparently so, even though perpetrators will still be hard to catch in the act, officers will be looking harder for this and will not turn the other way when it happens.

So...what are your thoughts about stricter legislation like this ever coming to Texas?  As far as we know there are no such plans, but what if? Please answer our poll below.