Ohio may soon end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines and minor offenses if Gov. Mike DeWine signs into law a newly passed bill. These reforms will benefit hundreds of thousands of Ohio residents who struggle to maintain their jobs and contribute to their communities because of these suspensions.
Ohio lawmakers passed House Bill 29 and sent it to DeWine’s desk on Dec. 30. In addition to ending the suspension of driver’s licenses for unpaid court fines and minor drug offenses, it would retroactively reinstate licenses previously suspended for those violations, allow indigent individuals to enter payment plans, and give persons who default on child support payments the ability to present evidence that suspending their licenses would prevent them from making future payments. Gov. DeWine is expected to sign HB 29 into law.
Ohio would be the 25th state in the last five years to end or otherwise limit the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay court fines. Through this bill, Ohio may begin to address the growing problem of citizens ending up trapped in a cycle of fines that leave them unable to reinstate their licenses.
According to an investigation by The Marshall Project, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles issued about 200,000 new license suspensions in 2022 for failure to pay court fines, missing child support payments, or other debt-related reasons, and there were over three million already active license suspensions in Ohio as of Sept. 2022.
The practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay court debts creates major problems for Ohio residents, especially those trying to maintain employment. These punishments carry the potential to sabotage their ability to pay off these debts.
Access to a driver’s license and a vehicle is mandatory for most jobs, so suspension can leave individuals unable to work to pay their fines and sustain a basic standard of living. In some cases, these people end up having to drive to work anyway despite their suspended licenses, which carries the risk of accruing more fines and even incarceration.
By enacting HB 29 into law, Ohio would end the vicious cycle that leaves individuals choosing between driving illegally or losing their employment. It may also help to ensure that individuals pay their fines and child support obligations.
Ohio is moving in the correct direction to ensure a fairer criminal justice system that avoids penalizing the poor and benefits hundreds of thousands of Ohio residents.