AUSTIN — The Texas House of Representatives today gave preliminary approval to House Bill 2048, a bill that would end the Driver Responsibility Program while continuing funding for all Texas trauma hospitals. Under the Driver Responsibility Program, Texans convicted of certain traffic offenses are required to pay an annual surcharge on top of court fines and criminal penalties to maintain their drivers' licenses. As of January 2018, more than 1.4 million licenses were suspended for lack of payment.
“The Texas House is putting people first in voting to end the disastrous Driver Responsibility Program,” said Sharon Watkins Jones, political strategies director for the ACLU of Texas. “By ending this program, Texans will no longer be forced into an additional unreasonable financial burden caused by an endless maze of fines and fees that further set them back in providing for their families. We urge the Texas Senate to finally take advantage of this bill when it arrives in their chamber and put an end to the Driver Responsibility Program.”
