A legislator in Sacramento has introduced a bill that would ban people from driving with their pets in their laps. Bill 2233 was introduced by Bill Maze, a Republican assemblyman from Sacramento.

It is aimed at preventing a pet from becoming a distraction to the driver, and not to ban pets in cars all together.

A pet has "a mind of its own," he said. "It can wander around inside the cab. The worst possibility is they can get under your feet and get under the steering wheel...I see this as being a safety issue and causing insurance rates hopefully not to go up."

The only current law governing pets in vehicles says that if a pet is in the bed of a pickup truck it must be caged.

So far no other proposed solutions have been introduced into the bill. Some have suggested cages or modifications to seat belts that would keep the pet in place. At least one animal rights group is in support of the initial idea.

"This certainly sounds like something we could support, given the danger to the driver should the pet get under the brake or pedal," said Lisa Weisberg of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.