Governor Northam hopes a proposed budget amendment will eliminate the suspension of a Virginia drivers license for non-payment of court fines and costs. The General Assembly could not agree on a bill to do so, so Northam hopes the amendment route might bring about the same result.
News release: Governor Ralph Northam today announced an amendment to the enrolled budget that will eliminate the suspension of driving privileges for nonpayment of court fines and costs. This amendment would also reinstate driving privileges for the more than 627,000 Virginians who currently have their licenses suspended. “The practice of suspending a person’s driver’s license for nonpayment of court fines and costs is inequitable-it’s past time we end it,” said Governor Northam. “A driver’s license is critical to daily life, including a person’s ability to maintain a job. Eliminating a process that envelops hundreds of thousands of Virginians in a counterproductive cycle is not only fair, it’s also the right thing to do.”
