Texas Tribune by Arya Sundaram May 1, 2019
The Texas House unanimously moved Thursday to repeal the tough-to-kill Driver Responsibility Program, which critics say traps low-income drivers in a cycle of debt.
The program adds additional yearly fees on top of the price of a ticket, from $100 per year for a few traffic tickets to $2,000 for driving while intoxicated. And if drivers don’t pay within 105 days, the state suspends their licenses.
While the Driver Responsibility Program is widely unpopular, legislative attempts to repeal it have largely failed because it pays for nearly half of the state’s emergency trauma care system, an expensive regional network of emergency medical and hospital services. But Richmond Republican state Rep. John Zerwas, the bill’s author, has managed to get both criminal justice advocates and hospitals on board with his proposal.
The bill passed in a preliminary vote of 144 to 0. It still needs one more vote before it can be sent to the Senate.
"This is a failed program over the years, and [Rep. Zerwas] and I have been passionate to do something about the program," said San Angelo Republican state Rep. Drew Darby, one of the bill's co-authors. "I congratulate this body on finally taking action to get rid of this program."
Instead of forcing individual drivers — who may only have a minor violation — to shoulder the burden of emergency trauma care, Zerwas’ House Bill 2048 spreads the cost more equitably, according to supporters. The measure would add a $2 bump in yearly automobile insurance fees, and it would increase state traffic fines — a portion of the fine paid for any traffic violation — from $30 to $50. But the additional yearly charge for these traffic violations would be gone, and trauma care facilities would receive extra funding, to boot.
More:
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/01/texas-house-passes-bill-kill-driver-responsibility-program/
