WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) to introduce the bipartisan Driving for Opportunity Act to provide incentives to states that choose to end debt-based driver’s license suspensions. Millions of Americans have their driver’s licenses suspended simply because they are too poor to pay fines or fees, and not for any public safety reason. These debt-based driver’s license suspensions make it harder for Americans to go to work to pay off their debts and place an unnecessary burden on the police, diverting resources that should go to public safety.   

“In a rural state like Arkansas, vehicle transportation is often the only practical way to get to work, home, and other important destinations. Cutting off an individual’s ability to travel, including to a job, because of unrelated fees is counterproductive in addition to having no effect on public safety. I’m proud to be part of the bipartisan effort to shield Americans from this unwarranted penalization,” said Boozman. 

“A driver’s license doesn’t just help you move from one place to another – it means access to their jobs, their livelihoods, and their communities for millions of Americans,” said Coons. “Debt-based driver’s license suspensions not only severely restrict Americans’ mobility, they also make it nearly impossible for citizens to hold down a job and therefore pay back their debts. My bipartisan Driving for Opportunity Act would stop the disproportionate targeting of underserved populations, end the counterproductive policy that burdens our law enforcement, and break this vicious cycle of debt.” 

“Suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees is counterproductive,” said Wicker. “Americans need access to vehicles to work and to care for their families. My home state of Mississippi rightly banned this practice in 2018. This legislation would encourage other states to follow our lead.”

The Driving for Opportunity Act would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice to provide grants to states that do not suspend or refuse to renew a driver’s license for an individual’s failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee. The grants would be awarded to states to cover the costs of the driver’s license reinstatement programs, to build programs that would maximize the number of individuals who regain their driving privileges, and to assist people living in areas where public transportation is limited. 

Research increasingly shows that suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees negatively impacts families, communities, and law enforcement:

• It leads to increased unemployment and underemployment. According to a report by the Motor Vehicles Affordability and Fairness Task Force in New Jersey, 42 percent of those who lost their licenses due to certain non-driving-related offenses lost their jobs as a result, and 45 percent of those who lost their jobs were unable to find new employment. Eighty-eight percent of those who were able to find another job reported a decrease in income. A Harvard Law School report called the suspension of driver’s licenses “one of the most pervasive poverty traps for poor people assessed a fine that they cannot afford to pay.”
• It puts people at risk without benefit to public safety. According to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 75 percent of suspended drivers continue to drive, facing further fines, fees, and incarceration if they get pulled over. Police officers will then be required to make traffic stops as debt collectors, and unnecessary traffic stops can be unsafe.
• It does not help collections. A report by the San Francisco City Treasurer found that ending debt-based license suspensions in the city had “no negative impact on collections.” A report by Texas Appleseed noted that although Dallas suspends licenses for unpaid fines and fees and Fort Worth, Texas, does not, Fort Worth had slightly higher collections than Dallas did.
• It takes up law enforcement officers’ valuable time. Driving on a suspended license is a common charge in jurisdictions across the country, and consumes substantial police and prosecutorial resources.    

In addition to Boozman, Coons and Wicker, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), James Lankford (R-OK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). 

The bill text is available here.