License Suspensions Dropped as Penalty for Certain Non-Moving Offenses

On Dec 23, 2019

This past Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed S1080, which eliminates the use of mandatory driver’s license suspensions as a penalty for certain non-moving offenses.

According to the governor, “Driver’s licenses suspensions for reasons unrelated to moving offenses are often overly punitive and can have a disproportionate financial impact on many working-class and minority families.”

S1080 eliminates mandatory driver’s license suspensions for certain non-moving violations. The law also repeals the driver’s license suspension required for criminal convictions related to the possession or sale of illegal drugs and removes the provision that a person’s driver’s license be suspended by operation of law upon the issuance of a child support-related warrant.

Primary sponsors of the bill include Senators Shirley Turner, Nicholas Scutari, and Assemblymembers James J. Kennedy, Eliana Pintor Marin, and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.

“I agree with American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators that we should not be suspending driver licenses for offenses unrelated to driving,’’ said Motor Vehicle Commission Chief Administrator Sue Fulton. “Whether you’re going to work, a doctor’s appointment or taking children to school, a driver’s license is a tool – a permit to drive on our public roads. It is no more nor less than a way for us to keep our roads and drivers safe.’’

“For far too long, our policies have penalized people with the loss of their driver licenses for offenses unrelated to driving or road safety, or because they are too poor to afford to pay their fines or surcharges,” said Senator Turner.  “A driver’s license is needed to commute to and from work, but many jobs also require a valid driver’s license just to apply.  Suspending a person’s license is counterproductive.  We want our residents to have their driver’s licenses so they can work and earn a living, pay off their fines, penalties and surcharges, take their children to school and doctor’s appointments, and be productive citizens.”

“The punishment of a suspended driver’s license for certain crimes and offenses, such as a failure to pay a fine, doesn’t make any sense,” said Senator Scutari. “We want people to be able to get to work and earn a paycheck so they can get ahead and actually pay their fines. This law eliminates the barriers preventing them from doing so.”

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