This bill would prohibit the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency from suspending the driver's license of an individual for failure to pay a fine, penalty, fee, or court costs associated with a conviction of certain traffic offenses if the court determines a driver to be indigent.
The bill was pre-filed on January 25, 2019 and assigned to the Judiciary Committee in the Senate.
ACLU of Alabama Comment
"Debt-based driver’s license suspensions are a penalty that punish people solely because they are poor. Suspending driver's licenses because a person is struggling to pay fines puts them into an impossible position: choose to drive illegally and risk incarceration and more fines in order to get to work or take care of family, or choose not to drive and lose needed income. SB16 ensures that indigent Alabamians will not face a penalty of poverty by having their driver’s licenses suspended."