Navigating life after prison with a suspended driver\u2019s license proved difficult for Joseph Brantley. <\/p>\n
Brantley, a recruiting director for M-D Building Products and a member of the Board of Corrections, said he rode a bike to work for months after his January 2021 release from prison. After saving enough to buy a used car, Service Oklahoma told him he would have to wait at least three years and pay $3,500 to have his license reinstated. <\/p>\n
As professional and personal opportunities emerged, including the chance to finish his bachelor\u2019s degree at the University of Central Oklahoma, Brantley said he faced the dilemma of driving on a suspended license.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took that risk, and by the grace of God it paid off for me and I\u2019ve been reinstated,\u201d he said. \u201cI won\u2019t ever do anything again to lose my license, but under the old law, that\u2019s kind of the box I was put into.\u201d <\/p>\n
Oklahoma has tried to help people involved in the justice system find and keep jobs to reduce recidivism rates and boost workforce participation. A major reform came in 2021, when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a law<\/a> requiring the Department of Corrections to ensure inmates have essential documents before they\u2019re released.<\/p>\n Reform advocates said Oklahoma should stop suspending driver\u2019s licenses over unpaid court fines and fees. Lawmakers examined the issue during an interim study<\/a> at the state capitol on Oct. 13.<\/p>\n District and municipal judges can direct Service Oklahoma to suspend a person\u2019s driver\u2019s license if they miss payments or fail to appear in court. Enforcement varies across counties, with debt-related suspensions more common in rural areas.<\/p>\n Michael Olson, policy counsel for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, said approximately 180,000 Oklahomans have a debt-related driver\u2019s license suspension. The average suspension lasts 38 months, according to Service Oklahoma. <\/p>\n Olson said Oklahoma\u2019s workforce participation rate would plummet if people strictly adhered to the suspensions. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople continue to drive because you have to survive,\u201d Olson said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think the consequences of disincentivizing people to drive are fully thought through.\u201d <\/p>\n At least 25 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of driver\u2019s license suspension reform since 2017, according to the Free to Drive<\/a> campaign. Advocates said ending debt-related suspensions does not reduce court collections and encourages more people to enter the workforce. <\/p>\n In California, which stopped suspending driver\u2019s licenses for unpaid fines and fees in 2017, on-time collection rates for non-delinquent accounts rose 8.9%<\/a>. Researchers in Tennessee<\/a> examined 10 years of data, from 2011 through 2021, and found that license revocations did not improve collection rates.<\/p>\n Sarah Couture, a regional director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center, said Oklahoma could generate tens of millions in new tax revenue if it stops suspending driver\u2019s licenses for court debt. <\/p>\n \u201cDebt-based driver\u2019s license suspensions cost people their livelihoods,\u201d Couture said during the hearing. \u201cIt cuts economic growth, it undermines public safety and it does not compel payments.\u201d<\/p>\n Several lawmakers expressed interest in the policy change, which stalled<\/a> last session after it did not receive a committee hearing. <\/p>\n Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, said he began examining the issue after one of his employees was arrested for driving on a suspended license and spent the weekend in jail. He said Oklahoma needs to ensure that people without a dangerous driving record can at least drive to and from work.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state is basically putting these people in timeout,\u201d Murdock said. \u201cYou\u2019re in timeout. You didn\u2019t pay for whatever reason, and you have to stay here for however long.\u201d <\/p>\n Sen. Spencer Kern, R-Duncan, said he recognizes the economic effect of driver\u2019s license suspensions, but fears that eliminating debt-related suspensions could send the wrong message. <\/p>\n \u201cIf we remove these fines and suspensions, are we perhaps opening Pandora\u2019s box on there are no consequences for your actions?\u201d Kern asked during the hearing. <\/p>\n