It’s ‘Get Your Driver’s License Back’ Day in Michigan
Michigan Secretary of State branches are ready for large crowds of people hoping to have a suspended driver’s license reinstated. State officials have forgiven millions of dollars’ worth of debt they say realistically would never be collected.
Secretary of State officials across Michigan are preparing for an influx of additional customers today.
It’s the first day hundreds of thousands of drivers with a suspended license can have it reinstated.
Earlier this year Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the state legislature eliminated so-called “driver responsibility fees.”
That’s a tax levied on top of any unpaid traffic tickets, enacted in 2003 to help fix the state’s budget deficit.
It amounts to about $650 million of debt owed by a total of almost 350,000 drivers.
Those who did not, or could not, pay the fee had their license suspended.
Some drivers complain that stopped them from having the transportation necessary to get to a job and earn the money to pay the fees.
Now drivers can apply up until the end of the year to reinstate their license without having to pay a $125 fee.
The requirements for obtaining a license remain the same. And drivers that have outstanding traffic tickets still must pay them off before their license can be returned.
Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson says branches hired additional clerks to handle what they predict will be large crowds of people hoping to get their driving privileges back during this first week of October.
