[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 137 (Monday, August 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5602-S5603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2177. Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. Wicker) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2137 proposed by Mr.
Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Manchin, Mr.
Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, Ms. Murkowski, Mr.
Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 3684, to authorize funds for
Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs,
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE _____--DRIVING FOR OPPORTUNITY
SEC. ___01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Driving for Opportunity
Act of 2021''.
SEC. ___02. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Driving a vehicle is an essential aspect of the daily
lives of most people in the United States.
(2) Driving is often required to access jobs and
healthcare, take care of family, get groceries, and fulfill
other basic responsibilities.
(3) In many small cities, towns, and rural areas that do
not have public transportation and ridesharing alternatives,
driving is often the only realistic means of transportation.
(4) Even in cities with public transportation and
ridesharing options, individuals vulnerable to infection
during the COVID-19 pandemic and those complying with public
health guidance regarding social distancing are increasingly
reliant on driving as their primary means of transportation
for essential travel.
(5) In the United States, millions of Americans have had
their driver's licenses suspended for unpaid court fines and
fees.
(6) A person whose driver's license is suspended or revoked
for unpaid fines and fees will often find it more difficult
to earn a living and therefore pay the debt owed to the
government.
(7) The barrier to employment posed by driver's license
suspensions and revocations for unpaid fines and fees is
especially problematic during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the
unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the Great
Depression.
(8) Drunk and dangerous driving are some of the leading
causes of death and serious bodily injury in the United
States, and promoting safety on the roads is a legitimate,
necessary, and core governmental function. Suspending a
license for unsafe driving conduct presents different
considerations than suspending a license for unpaid fines and
fees. Suspending a license for unsafe driving is an
appropriate tool to protect public safety. Policymakers also
may consider alternatives to suspension of a license for
unsafe driving such as ignition interlock device programs.
(9) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, every year on average, over 34,000 people are
killed and 2,400,000 more people are injured in motor vehicle
crashes. Some of the major causes of these crashes include
speeding, impaired driving, and distracted driving. Nearly
half of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes are
unrestrained. The societal harm caused by motor vehicle
crashes has been valued at $836,000,000,000 annually. The
enactment of, enforcement of, and education regarding traffic
laws are key to addressing unsafe behavior and promoting
public safety.
(10) However, most driver's license suspensions are not
based on the need to protect public safety.
(11) In the State of Florida, 1,100,000 residents received
a suspension notice for unpaid fines and fees in 2017 alone.
(12) Between 2010 and 2017, all but 3 States increased the
amount of fines and fees for civil and criminal violations.
(13) In the United States, 40 percent of all driver's
license suspensions are issued for conduct that was unrelated
to driving.
(14) In 2015, the State of Washington calculated that State
troopers spent 70,848 hours dealing with license suspensions
for non-driving offenses.
(15) The American Association of Motor Vehicle
Administrators estimated that arresting a person for driving
with a suspended license can take 9 hours of an officer's
time, including waiting for a tow truck, transporting an
individual to jail, filling out paperwork, making a court
appearance, and other administrative duties and accordingly
Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste called non-driving
suspensions a ``drain on the system as a whole''.
(16) The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles determined
that suspending driver's licenses for offenses unrelated to
driving consumed 8,566 hours per year of staff time in the
Department.
(17) Many States impose a significant fee for reinstating a
suspended driver's license, such as Alabama, where the fee is
$275.
(18) Driving on a suspended license is one of the most
common criminal charges in jurisdictions across the country.
(19) Seventy-five percent of those with suspended licenses
report continuing to drive.
[[Page S5603]]
(20) It is more likely that those people are also driving
without insurance due to the costs and restrictions
associated with obtaining auto insurance on a suspended
license, thereby placing a greater financial burden on other
drivers when a driver with a suspended license causes an
accident.
(21) The American Association of Motor Vehicle
Administrators has concluded the following: ``Drivers who
have been suspended for social non-conformance-related
offenses are often trapped within the system. Some cannot
afford to pay the original fines, and may lose their ability
to legally get to and from work as a result of the
suspension. Many make the decision to drive while suspended.
The suspension results in increased financial obligations
through new requirements such as reinstatement fees, court
costs, and other penalties. While there is a clear societal
interest in keeping those who are unfit to drive off the
roads, broadly restricting licenses for violations unrelated
to an individual's ability to drive safely may do more harm
than good. This is especially true in areas of the country
that lack alternative means of transportation. For those
individuals, a valid driver license can be a means to
survive. Local communities, employers, and employees all
experience negative consequences as a result of social non-
conformity suspensions, including unemployment, lower wages,
fewer employment opportunities and hiring choices, and
increased insurance costs.''.
(22) A report by the Harvard Law School Criminal Justice
Policy Program concluded the following: ``The suspension of a
driver's or professional license is one of the most pervasive
poverty traps for poor people assessed a fine that they
cannot afford to pay. The practice is widespread. Nearly 40
percent of license suspensions nationwide stem from unpaid
fines, missed child support payments, and drug offenses--not
from unsafe or intoxicated driving or failing to obtain
automotive insurance. Suspension of a driver's or
professional licenses is hugely counterproductive; it
punishes non-payment by taking away a person's means for
making a living. License suspension programs are also
expensive for States to run and they distract law enforcement
efforts from priorities related to public safety. License
suspensions may also be unconstitutional if the license was
suspended before the judge determined the defendant had the
ability to pay the criminal justice debt.''.
SEC. ___03. GRANTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES REINSTATEMENT
PROGRAMS.
Subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 501(a) (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)), by adding at
the end the following:
``(3) Grants for driver's license reinstatement programs.--
``(A) In general.--In addition to grants made under
paragraph (1), the Attorney General may make grants to States
described in subparagraph (B) to cover costs incurred by the
State to reinstate driver's licenses previously suspended for
unpaid fines and fees.
``(B) States described.--A State described in this
subparagraph is a State that--
``(i) does not have in effect any State or local law that
permits--
``(I) the suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew,
a driver's license of an individual based on the individual's
failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee; or
``(II) the refusal to renew the registration of a motor
vehicle based on the owner's failure to pay a civil or
criminal fine or fee; and
``(ii) during the 3-year period ending on the date on which
the State applies for or receives a grant under this
paragraph, has repealed a State or local law that permitted
the suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew,
driver's licenses or the registration of a motor vehicle
based on the failure to pay civil or criminal fines or fees.
``(C) Criteria.--The Attorney General shall award grants
under this section to eligible States that submit a plan to
reinstate driver's licenses previously suspended for unpaid
fines and fees--
``(i) to maximize the number of individuals with suspended
driver's licenses eligible to have driving privileges
reinstated or regained;
``(ii) to provide assistance to individuals living in areas
where public transportation options are limited; and
``(iii) to ease the burden on States where the State or
local law described in subparagraph (B) was in effect during
the 3-year period ending on the date on which a State applies
for a grant under this paragraph in accordance with section
502.
``(D) Amount.--Each grant awarded under this paragraph
shall be not greater than 5 percent of the amount allocated
to the State in accordance with the formula established under
section 505.
``(E) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which a grant is made to a State under this paragraph, the
State shall submit to the Attorney General a report that
describes the program implemented under subparagraph (A),
including with respect to--
``(i) the population served by the program;
``(ii) the number of driver's licenses reinstated under the
program; and
``(iii) all costs to the State of the program, including
how the grants under this paragraph were spent to defray such
costs.''; and
(2) in section 508--
(A) by striking ``There'' and inserting ``(a) In General.--
There''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Driver's License Reinstatement Programs.--There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 501(a)(3)
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.''.
SEC. ___04. GAO STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study of the implementation of the grant
program in paragraph (3) of section 501(a) of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C.
10152(a)), as added by section [___03(a)] of this Act, that--
(1) includes what is known about the effect of repealing
State laws, in selected States, that had permitted the
suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, driver's
licenses or the registration of a motor vehicle based on the
failure to pay civil or criminal fines or fees, including
such factors, to the extent information is available, as--
(A) the collection of fines and fees;
(B) the usage of law enforcement resources;
(C) economic mobility and unemployment;
(D) rates of enforcement of traffic safety laws through the
tracking of number of summonses and violations issued
(including those related to automated enforcement
technologies);
(E) the use of suspensions for public safety-related
reasons (including reckless driving, speeding, and driving
under the influence);
(F) safety-critical traffic events (including in localities
with automated enforcement programs);
(G) the rates of license suspensions and proportion of
unlicensed drivers;
(H) racial and geographic disparities; and
(I) administrative costs (including costs associated with
the collection of fines and fees and with the reinstatement
of driver's licenses); and
(2) includes what is known about--
(A) existing alternatives to driver's license suspension as
methods of enforcement and collection of unpaid fines and
fees; and
(B) existing alternatives to traditional driver's license
suspension for certain kinds of unsafe driving, including
models that allow drivers to continue to drive legally while
pursuing driver improvement opportunities.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and
the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure a report on the study
required under subsection (a).
______