Starting next month, the state of California will no longer impose driver’s license suspensions because of unpaid traffic fines.
The new provision comes as part of a series of bills which were signed by Governor Jerry Brown last Tuesday to approve the new budget. This new legislation will prevent CA courts from issuing driver’s license suspensions solely on the grounds of unpaid traffic tickets on a driver’s record.
According to the Associated Press, Gov. Brown said the punishment of driver’s license suspension fails to help collect unpaid fines and can ultimately send low-income people into a negative cycle of job loss and financial struggle.
Gov. Brown said, “There does not appear to be a strong connection,” when referring to license suspensions and collecting traffic fines. This new provision was initially brought to light in Brown’s January budget proposal.
Gov. Brown has also received support from multiple members within Congress.
Senator Bob Hertzberg expressed his support for the new legislation by confirming that the policy will ensure people’s lives are not hindered by traffic tickets.
“Often, the primary consequence of a driver’s license suspension is the inability to legally drive to work or take one’s children to school,” Gov. Brown added.
According to data collected from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the state had a total of 488,000 people with suspended driver’s licenses caused by unpaid traffic tickets or missing court appearances in March alone.
Members of Congress who have publicly opposed the new policy have argued that driver’s license suspension is a beneficial tool to help incentivize people to pay their pending traffic fines. However, supporters have countered opposing arguments by explaining how losing driving privileges can result in job loss, which in turn would make it even more difficult for CA residents to pay off their traffic fines.
The new bill will still allow courts to suspend driver’s licenses for other infractions, such as failing to appear in court, accumulating too many points, driving under the influence and not having car insurance.
Hertzberg said that the new policy signed by Gov. Brown is a good first step to changing state law so that it doesn’t “punish people for being poor.”
Senator Hertzberg has also been actively working toward advancing a new legislation that will allow low-income people who cannot afford the cost of their traffic tickets to appear in court and ask a judge to lower the fines or substitute them with community service requirements.
“We’re not telling people you shouldn’t pay a price when you violate the law—you should pay a price when you violate the law. The price just can’t be 1,000 times your annual salary,” said Hertzberg.
The senate is expected to vote on this bill within the next couple of weeks.