Got a suspended driver license? Ohio moves to make it easier to get it back

Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch
The Ohio Senate voted 31-0 on Wednesday for a bill that would help drivers get their suspended licenses restored more quickly and cut back on the ways Ohioans could lose their licenses in the first place.
The Ohio Senate voted 31-0 on Wednesday for a bill that would help drivers get their suspended licenses restored more quickly and cut back on the ways Ohioans could lose their licenses in the first place.

The Ohio Senate voted 31-0 on Wednesday for a bill that would help drivers get their suspended licenses restored more quickly and cut back on the ways Ohioans could lose their licenses in the first place.

Currently, Ohio drivers can lose their licenses for more than 30 reasons, many of which are not related to dangerous driving. Reinstatement fees can ramp up quickly, starting at $15 and maxing out at $650.

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles doesn't keep statistics on the total number of current suspensions but on average there are 257,500 suspensions imposed each year.

The Ohio Poverty Law Center estimates more than 1 million drivers had suspended licenses from 2016 to 2020, which is one out of every eight licensed drivers across the state. Roughly 60% of the suspensions stemmed from debt-related or other issues not related to dangerous driving, the center said.

A person’s ability to pay a fine or a fee should not determine whether they are free to drive, supporters of the bill say.

Senate Bill 37, which still needs to clear the Ohio House, would:

  • Limit suspensions only to convictions that are related to dangerous driving.

  • Eliminate authority to revoke, suspend or renew a license for failure to pay court fines and fees.

  • Wipe out old suspensions from the discontinued program that randomly selected drivers to provide proof of insurance.

  • Shorten the window in which driving without insurance offenses can be considered repeat offenses from five years to one year.

  • Increase the opportunities that Ohioans can ask for driving privileges if their licenses were suspended for failure to pay child support.

  • Eliminate school truancy as a reason for license denial or suspension.

  • Removes licenses suspensions for drug offenses unrelated to driving.

The bill is opposed by county prosecutors but supported by the ACLU of Ohio, Americans for Prosperity and several other groups.

The bill co-sponsors, Sens. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and Catherine Ingram, D-Cincinnati, said the legislation doesn't accomplish all the reforms they want but it does remove some barriers.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio moves to limit driver license suspensions to dangerous driving

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