 As of May 31, 2019, more than 190,000 people had a South Carolina driver’s  license under indefinite suspension for failure to pay traffic fines and fees pursuant to Section  56-25-20.     South Carolina suffers from one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.   According to 2017 U.S. Census estimates, South Carolina has the eleventh highest population of  people living in poverty in the United States, with 16.6% of South Carolinians earning less than  the Federal Poverty Guideline for their household.10    Even South Carolinians with incomes above the federal poverty level may  experience significant day-to-day financial hardship.  For example, people are generally eligible  for free legal assistance from South Carolina Legal Services, a federally-funded “legal aid”  organization, if their household income is at or below 125% of the relevant Federal Poverty  Guideline and may be eligible if their income is at or below 200% of the relevant Federal  Poverty Guideline.11  Similarly, food assistance is provided to people whose household income  is at or below 130% of the relevant Federal Poverty Guideline.12    South Carolina’s indefinite suspension of driver’s licenses for nonpayment of  traffic fines and fees under Section 56-25-20 disproportionately harms Black people.  Analysis of  DMV data, which is described below, reveals that Black people are around 3.4 times more likely  than non-Latinx white people to have their South Carolina driver’s license indefinitely suspended  for failure to pay traffic tickets pursuant to Section 56-25-20.    According to 2017 U.S. Census estimates, non-Latinx Black people make up 27%  and non-Latinx white people make up 64% of the South Carolina population.15  But DMV data  shows that, as of May 31, 2019, Black people made up 48% and white people made up only 35%  of all people with driver’s licenses indefinitely suspended for failure to pay traffic tickets under  Section 56-25-20.  These racial disparities are linked to the longstanding racial gaps in poverty  and unemployment discussed above.    The suspension of a driver’s license for nonpayment of traffic fines and fees has  devastating consequences on the ability of people to pursue a livelihood, to meet basic needs for  themselves and their families, and to meaningfully participate in civic life.  Eighty-six percent of  Americans describe a car as a “necessity of life.”16      In a 2013 survey of 2,459 South Carolina residents concerning transportation  options, 92% of respondents reported using a personal vehicle for travel.17     The South Carolina Department of Transportation (“SC DOT”) estimated in a  2014 report that only 44% of statewide public transit demands were met in fiscal year 2011.18     In the same 2014 report, the SC DOT recognized that an increase in low-income  households presented a need for public transit.  The report concluded that South Carolina lacked  sufficient public transportation options to serve second- and third-shift workers, lacked  “coordinated/scheduled services and coverage” in rural areas, and had “[l]imited scheduled  public transit routes outside urban areas.”19  In parts of South Carolina, major employers have  openly acknowledged that the lack of public transportation hinders the ability of employees to  get to work.20    Research from across the country also underscores the critical link between a  person’s ability to maintain a valid driver’s license and employment and financial stability.  The  American Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators (“AAMVA”) has recognized that  “[p]eople who are able to legally drive are more likely to have stable employment.”29  In  response to a Rutgers University survey of suspended New Jersey driver’s license holders, 42%  of respondents reported losing jobs after their driver’s licenses were suspended.30  Forty-five  percent of the respondents who lost their jobs following driver’s license suspensions reported  that they were unable to find new jobs.31  Of those who were able to find employment, 88%  reported a decrease in income.32    The AAMVA has recognized that “[s]uspending a person’s driving privilege  makes it less likely that fines will be paid if the person is unable to get to work and to pursue  other daily activities such as attending school, going to medical appointments, and so on.  This is  compounded for individuals who live in areas where other transportation options are not readily  available.”35     The indefinite suspension of driver’s licenses for nonpayment of traffic fines and  fees confronts indigent people with an impossible decision: lose their jobs, face barriers to  finding employment, and fail to care for themselves and their families, or drive illegally and risk  further legal consequences for driving on a suspended license (“DUS”), including fines, fees, jail  time, and extension of probation or parole.      Faced with such difficult choices, most people whose licenses are suspended  continue to drive.  A 2003 report by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program  estimated that as many as 75% of people with suspended and revoked licenses continue to drive  while under suspension.37  Similarly, a study commissioned by the AAMVA Suspended and  Revoked Working Group, which analyzed 114,626 driver records from eight geographically and  demographically diverse states, concluded that people with suspended licenses continue to drive  despite the seriousness of the consequences for driving on a suspended license.38    In South Carolina, the steep penalties associated with driving on a suspended  license push people who live with such suspensions deeper into cycles of poverty, debt, and  entanglement with the criminal legal system.      Under South Carolina law, a person who is convicted of DUS three or more times  in three years is designated a “habitual offender.”43  And a person who is convicted of driving on  a suspended license while designated a habitual offender may be charged with a felony and face  up to five years of incarceration.44    The DMV indefinitely suspends driver’s licenses for failure to pay traffic tickets  in an exercise of its discretion under South Carolina Code Section 56-25-20.45    %.24     Section 56-25-20 vests the DMV with the sole authority and discretion to suspend  the driver’s licenses of South Carolina residents and driver’s license holders for noncompliance  with traffic citations and littering summonses.      Section 56-25-20 does not require the DMV to suspend driver’s licenses.  Rather,  the statute permits the agency to indefinitely suspend a driver’s license if it is notified, within  twelve months of the issuance of a traffic citation or littering summons, that a South Carolina  resident or driver’s license holder has failed to comply with the citation or summons (“NRVC  procedures”).     As described in detail below, the DMV has a policy and practice of exercising its  Section 56-25-20 authority to indefinitely suspend driver’s licenses after a report of failure to pay  a traffic citation without ensuring the license holder is able to pay.  The DMV does this in  response to reports of nonpayment, whether the reports are issued by South Carolina courts or by  a court or motor vehicle department in another NRVC-participating state.    Section 56-25-20 permits the DMV to impose indefinite license suspensions for  failure to comply with a littering summons, but data disclosed by the DMV reveals that the  agency does not exercise this authority in practice.  As of November 2018, there was no one with  a driver’s license suspended indefinitely by the DMV under Section 56-25-20 for failure to  comply with a littering summons.     NRVC procedures are not used when a defendant in a traffic case pays fines and  fees at, or before, their court date.    A. A driver’s license is necessary for economic self-sufficiency, to care for one’s self  and family, and to meaningfully participate in society.  