Texas Lawmakers to End Surcharges for Driving Offenses
Texas lawmakers are considering ending the program that requires driving offenders to pay surcharges for their bad behavior. This means no more fines for offenses such as driving without a license and driving without insurance.
The surcharges, part of the Texas Driver Responsibility Program, may be done away with because people are unwilling or unable to pay. Almost 60% of the surcharges, worth an estimated $1.1 billion, have gone unpaid.
The Texas Driver Responsibility Program was started in 2003 and was intended to be a way to raise money for trauma care centers and highways. Since the program started, no money has gone to the highway system because of lack of payment and trauma centers received only a small percentage of what was promised.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee is not happy with the amount of unpaid surcharges due to unlicensed and uninsured drivers. They have called for the program to be eliminated and say that if the offenders don’t pay, they will lose their license.
According to the Senate, “These surcharges are not changing behavior, not being collected, and are creating a new class of criminals each day by adding to the 1.2 million unlicensed and uninsured drivers in the state.”
Due to the large amount of cases involving these offenses, most of them are dismissed or the offender is not convicted. Most cases are abandoned in the court system so that more important court cases like DWI, public intoxication, and reckless driving can be tried more quickly.
The Department of Public Safety backed by the Legislature started a new incentive in January. Offenders who have lost their license can gain it back by paying 10% of their original fine up to $250 maximum. The amnesty program will run through the first week in April. Another program is planned after the amnesty program ends that will reduce the surcharges for low-income drivers.
