II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4186 

To provide grants to States that do not suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew 

a driver’s license of a person or refuse to renew a registration of a 

motor vehicle for failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 2, 2020 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To provide grants to States that do not suspend, revoke, 

or refuse to renew a driver’s license of a person or 

refuse to renew a registration of a motor vehicle for 

failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driving for Oppor5 tunity Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Driving a vehicle is an essential aspect of 

2 the daily lives of most people in the United States. 

3 (2) Driving is often required to access jobs and 

4 healthcare, take care of family, get groceries, and 

5 fulfill other basic responsibilities. 

6 (3) In many small cities, towns, and rural areas 

7 that do not have public transportation and ride8 sharing alternatives, driving is often the only real9 istic means of transportation. 

10 (4) Even in cities with public transportation 

11 and ridesharing options, individuals vulnerable to in12 fection during the COVID–19 pandemic and those 

13 complying with public health guidance regarding so14 cial distancing are increasingly reliant on driving as 

15 their primary means of transportation for essential 

16 travel. 

17 (5) In the United States, millions of Americans 

18 have had their driver’s licenses suspended for unpaid 

19 court fines and fees. 

20 (6) A person whose driver’s license is suspended 

21 or revoked will often find it more difficult to earn a 

22 living and therefore pay the debt owed to the gov23 ernment. 

24 (7) The barrier to employment posed by driver’s 

25 license suspensions and revocations is especially 


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1 problematic during the COVID–19 pandemic, when 

2 the unemployment rate is the highest it has been 

3 since the Great Depression. 

4 (8) Drunk and dangerous driving is one of the 

5 leading causes of death and serious bodily injury in 

6 the United States, and promoting safety on the 

7 roads is a legitimate, necessary, and core govern8 mental function. 

9 (9) However, most driver’s license suspensions 

10 are not based on the need to protect public safety. 

11 (10) In the State of Florida, 1,100,000 resi12 dents received a suspension notice for unpaid fines 

13 and fees in 2017 alone. 

14 (11) Between 2010 and 2017, all but 3 States 

15 increased the amount of fines and fees for civil and 

16 criminal violations. 

17 (12) In the United States, 40 percent of all 

18 driver’s license suspensions are issued for conduct 

19 that was unrelated to driving. 

20 (13) In 2015, the State of Washington cal21 culated that State troopers spent 70,848 hours deal22 ing with license suspensions for non-driving offenses. 

23 (14) The American Association of Motor Vehi24 cle Administrators estimated that arresting a person 

25 for driving with a suspended license can take 9 


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1 hours of an officer’s time, including waiting for a 

2 tow truck, transporting an individual to jail, filling 

3 out paperwork, making a court appearance, and 

4 other administrative duties and accordingly Wash5 ington State Patrol Chief John Batiste called non6 driving suspensions a ‘‘drain on the system as a 

7 whole’’. 

8 (15) The Colorado Department of Motor Vehi9 cles determined that suspending driver’s licenses for 

10 offenses unrelated to driving consumed 8,566 hours 

11 per year of staff time in the Department. 

12 (16) Many States impose a significant fee for 

13 reinstating a suspended driver’s license, such as Ala14 bama, where the fee is $275. 

15 (17) Driving on a suspended license is one of 

16 the most common criminal charges in jurisdictions 

17 across the country. 

18 (18) Seventy-five percent of those with sus19 pended licenses report continuing to drive. 

20 (19) It is more likely that those people are also 

21 driving without insurance due to the costs and re22 strictions associated with obtaining auto insurance 

23 on a suspended license, thereby placing a greater fi24 nancial burden on other drivers when a driver with 

25 a suspended license causes an accident. 


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1 (20) The American Motor Vehicles Association 

2 has concluded the following: ‘‘Drivers who have been 

3 suspended for social non-conformance-related of4 fenses are often trapped within the system. Some 

5 cannot afford to pay the original fines, and may lose 

6 their ability to legally get to and from work as a re7 sult of the suspension. Many make the decision to 

8 drive while suspended. The suspension results in in9 creased financial obligations through new require10 ments such as reinstatement fees, court costs, and 

11 other penalties. While there is a clear societal inter12 est in keeping those who are unfit to drive off the 

13 roads, broadly restricting licenses for violations un14 related to an individual’s ability to drive safely may 

15 do more harm than good. This is especially true in 

16 areas of the country that lack alternative means of 

17 transportation. For those individuals, a valid driver 

18 license can be a means to survive. Local commu19 nities, employers, and employees all experience nega20 tive consequences as a result of social non-con21 formity suspensions, including unemployment, lower 

22 wages, fewer employment opportunities and hiring 

23 choices, and increased insurance costs.’’. 

24 (21) A report by the Harvard Law School 

25 Criminal Justice Policy Program concluded the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4186.IS S4186

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1 lowing: ‘‘The suspension of a driver’s or professional 

2 license is one of the most pervasive poverty traps for 

3 poor people assessed a fine that they cannot afford 

4 to pay. The practice is widespread. Nearly 40 per5 cent of license suspensions nationwide stem from un6 paid fines, missed child support payments, and drug 

7 offenses—not from unsafe or intoxicated driving or 

8 failing to obtain automotive insurance. Suspension of 

9 a driver’s or professional licenses is hugely counter10 productive; it punishes non-payment by taking away 

11 a person’s means for making a living. License sus12 pension programs are also expensive for States to 

13 run and they distract law enforcement efforts from 

14 priorities related to public safety. License suspen15 sions may also be unconstitutional if the license was 

16 suspended before the judge determined the defend17 ant had the ability to pay the criminal justice debt.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR DRIVER’S LICENSES REINSTATEMENT 

19 PROGRAMS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 1 of part E of title I of 

21 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

22 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) in section 501(a) (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)), by 

24 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) GRANTS FOR DRIVER’S LICENSE REIN2 STATEMENT PROGRAMS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to grants 

4 made under paragraph (1), the Attorney Gen5 eral may make grants to States described in 

6 subparagraph (B) to cover costs incurred by the 

7 State to reinstate driver’s licenses previously 

8 suspended for unpaid fines and fees. 

9 ‘‘(B) STATES DESCRIBED.—A State de10 scribed in this subparagraph is a State that— 

11 ‘‘(i) does not have in effect any State 

12 or local law that permits— 

13 ‘‘(I) the suspension or revocation 

14 of, or refusal to renew, a driver’s li15 cense of an individual based on the in16 dividual’s failure to pay a civil or 

17 criminal fine or fee; or 

18 ‘‘(II) the refusal to renew the 

19 registration of a motor vehicle based 

20 on the owner’s failure to pay a civil or 

21 criminal fine or fee; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) during the 3-year period ending 

23 on the date on which the State applies for 

24 or receives a grant under this paragraph, 

25 has repealed a State or local law that perVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4186.IS S4186

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1 mitted the suspension or revocation of, or 

2 refusal to renew, driver’s licenses or the 

3 registration of a motor vehicle based on 

4 the failure to pay civil or criminal fines or 

5 fees. 

6 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA.—The Attorney General 

7 shall award grants under this section to eligible 

8 States that submit a plan to reinstate driver’s 

9 licenses previously suspended for unpaid fines 

10 and fees— 

11 ‘‘(i) to maximize the number of indi12 viduals with suspended driver’s licenses eli13 gible to have driving privileges reinstated 

14 or regained; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to provide assistance to individ16 uals living in areas where public transpor17 tation options are limited; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) to ease the burden on States 

19 where the State or local law described in 

20 subparagraph (B) was in effect during the 

21 3-year period ending on the date on which 

22 a State applies for a grant under this 

23 paragraph in accordance with section 502. 

24 ‘‘(D) AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded 

25 under this paragraph shall be not greater than 


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1 5 percent of the amount allocated to the State 

2 in accordance with the formula established 

3 under section 505. 

4 ‘‘(E) FUNDS NOT USED.—If the amount 

5 awarded to a State under this paragraph is 

6 greater than the cost to the State described in 

7 subparagraph (A), the funds shall be trans8 ferred to the general fund of the Treasury. 

9 ‘‘(F) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date on which a grant is made to a 

11 State under this paragraph, the State shall sub12 mit to the Attorney General a report that de13 scribes the program implemented under sub14 paragraph (A), including with respect to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the population served by the pro16 gram; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the number of driver’s licenses 

18 reinstated under the program; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) all costs to the State of the pro20 gram, including how the grants under this 

21 paragraph were spent to defray such 

22 costs.’’; and 

23 (2) in section 508— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘There’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

25 IN GENERAL.—There’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(b) DRIVER’S LICENSE REINSTATEMENT PRO3 GRAMS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

4 out section 501(a)(3) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

5 2021 through 2025.’’. 

6 (b) REPEAL.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 159 of title 23, 

8 United States Code, is repealed. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

10 chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amend11 ed by striking the item relating to section 159. 

Æ 


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