Driver's license; suspension of license for nonpayment of fines and court costs. (HB2049)
Introduced By
Del. Paul Krizek (D-Alexandria) with support from co-patrons Del. Lashrecse D. Aird (D-Petersburg), Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond), and Del. Cia Price (D-Newport News)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
☐ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Driver's license suspension; repeal.Removes the requirement that a person's driver's license be suspended for nonpayment of fines and court costs. The bill removes the existing provision that a person loses his driver's license for six months when convicted of or placed on deferred disposition for a drug offense. The bill removes the requirement that a person who is less than 18 years old and attending a public school in the Commonwealth who has had 10 or more unexcused absences from school on consecutive school days show cause why his driver's license should not be suspended. The provisions of this bill that affect the Code of Virginia have a delayed effective date of September 1, 2017. Read the Bill »
Outcome
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/10/2017 | Committee |
| 01/10/2017 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102796D |
| 01/10/2017 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| 01/16/2017 | Assigned Courts sub: Criminal Law |
| 01/25/2017 | Subcommittee recommends laying on the table |
| 02/07/2017 | Left in Courts of Justice |
Comments
The ACLU-VA strongly supports this bill. Virginia needs to put the brakes on automatically suspending a person’s license for unpaid court fines and crimes unrelated to driving. License suspension should be an enforcement tool against bad drivers, not for minor, unrelated crimes such as simple drug possession. Recent national reports puts Virginia first in the nation with over 38,000 annual license suspensions for minor, unrelated drug crimes. This record number of suspensions strains limited police resources, wastes tax-payer dollars, and makes our roads less safe. The majority of states have opted out of the archaic “tough on crime” federal mandate and have not lost highway funding. Federal law allows for a simple process to opt out of automatically suspending licenses for drug offenses and it is time for Virginia to join the 38 states that have already done so. ACLU of Virginia supports legislation that would repeal automatic license suspensions for minor, unrelated crimes.
The ACLU-VA strongly supports this bill. Virginia needs to put the brakes on automatically suspending a person’s license for unpaid court fines and crimes unrelated to driving. License suspension should be an enforcement tool against bad drivers, not for minor, unrelated crimes such as simple drug possession. Recent national reports puts Virginia first in the nation with over 38,000 annual license suspensions for minor, unrelated drug crimes. This record number of suspensions strains limited police resources, wastes tax-payer dollars, and makes our roads less safe. The majority of states have opted out of the archaic “tough on crime” federal mandate and have not lost highway funding. Federal law allows for a simple process to opt out of automatically suspending licenses for drug offenses and it is time for Virginia to join the 38 states that have already done so. ACLU of Virginia supports legislation that would repeal automatic license suspensions for minor, unrelated crimes.