An Act Relative to Operating After Suspended License Offenses, Allowing for Partial Payment of Fees

Lead Sponsors: Representative Joseph W McGonagle, Jr. and Senator Sal N. DiDomenico

Impetus

Under existing law, defendants who have difficulty paying fees to the Registry of Motor Vehicles associated with driver’s license suspension, revocation or reinstatement cannot make partial payments for license reinstatement.  Fees associated with operating after suspension of a license and similar offenses can be substantial.  Under the current rules, if a defendant cannot pay the total fees outstanding to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the defendant is ineligible for license reinstatement.  The defendant’s inability to obtain a valid license may affect any pending criminal case relating to a license suspension and may require additional court appearances or penalties for failure to appear in court.

Need

• The current system exposes indigent defendants with greater criminal liability due to their inability to pay.

• The partial payment system is a fair solution allowing indigent defendants a method to pay fines incrementally and reinstate their license.
   
• For a person with the means to pay a fine, a conviction for OAS could be a relatively minor inconvenience involving a fine.  For an indigent person, an OAS conviction with an unpaid fine can lead to additional court appearances to pay that fine or warrants for failure to appear. 

Legislative Fix

• The Registry of Motor Vehicles shall allow any individual the option, upon request, of entering into a payment plan with the Registry of Motor Vehicles whereby that individual agrees to pay an amount of at least $25.00 per month toward the total amount owed.