I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8881 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 4, 2020 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, and Ms. 
MOORE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driving for Oppor-
tunity Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. 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 ride-
sharing alternatives, driving is often the only real-
istic means of transportation. 
(4) Even in cities with public transportation 
and ridesharing options, individuals vulnerable to in-
fection during the COVID–19 pandemic and those 
complying with public health guidance regarding so-
cial 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. 
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(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 Depres-
sion. 
(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 govern-
mental 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 appro-
priate tool to protect public safety. Policymakers 
also may consider alternatives to suspension of a li-
cense 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, im-
paired driving, and distracted driving. Nearly half of 
passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes are un-
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restrained. The societal harm caused by motor vehi-
cle crashes has been valued at $836 billion annually. 
The enactment of, enforcement of, and education re-
garding traffic laws are key to addressing unsafe be-
havior 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 resi-
dents 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 cal-
culated that State troopers spent 70,848 hours deal-
ing with license suspensions for non-driving offenses. 
(15) The American Association of Motor Vehi-
cle 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 
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other administrative duties and accordingly Wash-
ington State Patrol Chief John Batiste called non- 
driving suspensions a ‘‘drain on the system as a 
whole’’. 
(16) The Colorado Department of Motor Vehi-
cles 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 Ala-
bama, 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 sus-
pended licenses report continuing to drive. 
(20) It is more likely that those people are also 
driving without insurance due to the costs and re-
strictions associated with obtaining auto insurance 
on a suspended license, thereby placing a greater fi-
nancial burden on other drivers when a driver with 
a suspended license causes an accident. 
(21) The American Association of Motor Vehi-
cle Administrators has concluded the following: 
‘‘Drivers who have been suspended for social non- 
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conformance-related offenses are often trapped with-
in the system. Some cannot afford to pay the origi-
nal 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 sus-
pension 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 li-
censes 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 employ-
ees all experience negative consequences as a result 
of social non-conformity suspensions, including un-
employment, lower wages, fewer employment oppor-
tunities and hiring choices, and increased insurance 
costs.’’. 
(22) A report by the Harvard Law School 
Criminal Justice Policy Program concluded the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The suspension of a driver’s or professional 
license is one of the most pervasive poverty traps for 
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poor people assessed a fine that they cannot afford 
to pay. The practice is widespread. Nearly 40 per-
cent of license suspensions nationwide stem from un-
paid 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 counter-
productive; it punishes non-payment by taking away 
a person’s means for making a living. License sus-
pension programs are also expensive for States to 
run and they distract law enforcement efforts from 
priorities related to public safety. License suspen-
sions may also be unconstitutional if the license was 
suspended before the judge determined the defend-
ant had the ability to pay the criminal justice debt.’’. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR DRIVER’S LICENSES REINSTATEMENT 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—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
REIN-
STATEMENT PROGRAMS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to grants 
made under paragraph (1), the Attorney Gen-
eral 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 de-
scribed 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 li-
cense of an individual based on the in-
dividual’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 per-
mitted the suspension or revocation of, or 
refusal to renew, driver’s licenses or the 
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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 indi-
viduals with suspended driver’s licenses eli-
gible to have driving privileges reinstated 
or regained; 
‘‘(ii) to provide assistance to individ-
uals living in areas where public transpor-
tation 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 
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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 sub-
mit to the Attorney General a report that de-
scribes the program implemented under sub-
paragraph (A), including with respect to— 
‘‘(i) the population served by the pro-
gram; 
‘‘(ii) the number of driver’s licenses 
reinstated under the program; and 
‘‘(iii) all costs to the State of the pro-
gram, 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
PRO-
GRAMS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out section 501(a)(3) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2021 through 2025.’’. 
(b) REPEAL.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 159 of title 23, 
United States Code, is repealed. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 
chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking the item relating to section 159. 
SEC. 4. 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 3(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 re-
sources; 
(C) economic mobility and unemployment; 
(D) rates of enforcement of traffic safety 
laws through the tracking of number of sum-
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monses and violations issued (including those 
related to automated enforcement technologies); 
(E) the use of suspensions for public safe-
ty-related reasons (including reckless driving, 
speeding, and driving under the influence); 
(F) safety-critical traffic events (including 
in localities with automated enforcement pro-
grams); 
(G) the rates of license suspensions and 
proportion of unlicensed drivers; 
(H) racial and geographic disparities; and 
(I) administrative costs (including costs as-
sociated 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 col-
lection of unpaid fines and fees; and 
(B) existing alternatives to traditional driv-
er’s license suspension for certain kinds of un-
safe driving, including models that allow drivers 
to continue to drive legally while pursuing driv-
er improvement opportunities. 
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(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 Judi-
ciary and the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 
and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives a report on the study re-
quired under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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