If you have a suspended driver’s license, Ohio may make it easier to get it back

Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers who face driver license suspensions every year may have an easier road to getting their licenses reinstated.

Hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers who face driver license suspensions every year may have an easier road to getting their licenses reinstated.

Lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill that will make it harder to lose your license and easier to get a suspended license reinstated.

The bill now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for consideration.

The Ohio Poverty Law Center thanked lawmakers for moving the legislation forward.

“With the amendment and passage of House Bill 29, Ohioans who have been shouldering the burden of debt-related driver’s license suspensions will soon find relief and be able to return to the road. A valid driver’s license is essential to participating in Ohio’s economy and earning the money necessary to resolve existing debt,” the center said in a statement on Wednesday.

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.

Roughly 60% of license suspensions each year are for debt-related reasons. Under the bill heading to DeWine’s desk, license suspensions would largely be limited to convictions that are related to dangerous driving.

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.

After last-minute changes made Wednesday, the bill would:

• 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.
• Remove licenses suspensions for drug offenses unrelated to driving.
• Keep the ability to suspend licenses for some lower-level drug abuse offenses when the vehicle is used in the commission of a drug crime.

Statehouse reporter Erin Glynn contributed reporting.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.