Legislation to eliminate Drivers Responsibility Fees

Legislation to eliminate some of Michigan's onerous driver responsibility fees is on its way to Gov. Rick Snyder's desk to be signed into law.

The Michigan Senate today concurred in a 37-0 vote with the House version of Senate Bill 166, which removes some double fees levied against drivers for various minor offenses.

The legislation had broad bipartisan support. A total of 36 of Michigan's 38 state senators signed on as sponsors of SB 166, including Majority Leader Randy Richardville, Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, and Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor.

"This bill is a long overdue fix," Warren said today after the Senate vote. "It eliminates the onerous driver responsibility fee for drivers who have lesser violations like driving on an expired license or failing to produce a proof of insurance, while still keeping it in place for more serious crimes like vehicular manslaughter or driving under the influence."

Currently, drivers with a number of violations can be charged extra fees by the state, often referred to as "driver responsibility fees." The extra fees are assessed on top of the existing fine schedule, effectively penalizing drivers twice for the same offense.

Warren said she hasn't heard anything indicating Snyder's position on the bill, though she and others are assuming he'll sign it. A spokesperson for the governor could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon.

-Annarbor.com

2nd Year Fee

License Suspended for not paying your second year fee? Tell us your story.

Drivers Responsibility Fee's and Bankruptcy

In Michigan Driver Responsibility penalties are found in MCL 257.732 (a) Public Act 165 of 2003 taking effect 10/01/2003 and amended Public Act 52 of 2004 and Public Act 460 of 208.
The Acts purpose is to act as a deterrent to bad driving and to fund the marginal cost to society. Violations for drunk driving or not having proper insurance trigger the fees.
Several states have these types of fines.
In Michigan the act makes drivers who reach certain points against their driving record, do not have proof of insurance, or ticketed for drunk driving and other acts to pay an extra $100-500 annual fee to maintain their license in addition to other costs.[nc 2005]
In most cases failure to pay the yearly assessment on time results in license suspension. The license re instatement will cost another $125.00.[nc 2005]
Driver responsibility programs mean big money for the states who have tried them.[nc 2005]
Several of the Michigan Fees are;
$100 per year for as long as the license has 7 points,
$1,000 for 2 years for DUI,
$200 for 2 years for expired insurance,
$150 for 2 years for having an expired license.
These fines are not dischargable in Bankruptcy.
The United States Bankruptcy Code identifies governmental fine, penalties and forfitures as non dischargable in bankruptcy. 11 USC 523 ( a) (7), 727 1141 a, 1228 b, 1328 b.
In a Texas Bankruptcy Court the drivers responsibility surcharge was found to no be dischargable. In a CHapter 7 the debtor had scheduled the penalties as an unsecured creditor not a priority.
In Texas a surcharge is imposed on persons convicted of traffic violations. Sec. 708.102 and 708.13. The debtor pled that the $5,960 surcharge was dischargable and the State had violated the automatic stay.
The Bankrutcyu court relied on 11 USC 523 ( a) (7) and that Drivers Responsibility surcharges have been identified by previous decisions as fines and penalties.
see Celotex Corp v Catrell 477 US 317, 1986, and US v Kolstad ( In re Kolstad 101 BR 492, 493, Bankr SD Texas 1989.

DTE Energy

This off subject but does effect us Michiganders. I'm not an expert on energy law but I have had several members who have been shut off by DTE now that its cold out. I thought this was against the law to turn off the heat when kids are in the house. Anyone have any info on this,let us know.

Corrective Lenses Fee

After seeing this I was absolutly beside myself. When you renew your registration the State of Michigan will charge people who have corrective lenses $18.00. A fine for wearing glasses! Really. Lets get the word out and fight for DRF removal.

Help us fight the DRF fee! Join our FB Page.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100002395473154

Driving with an expired license! DRF of $150.

This keeps going on and on. More outrageous fee's for ridiculous offenses. If you are driving with an expired license. Whether you have a valid, one and just don't have it on you. You will be subject for a $150 DRF fee for 2 years!

Lets fight this. Join the FB page, sign the petition. Let's get the word out!

Proposal to Eliminate Drivers Responsibility Fees.

By Kate Hessling
Tribune Staff Writer

UPPER THUMB — The days of simply having to go to the County Building to resolve a traffic ticket are long gone for many drivers, particularly those who are assessed Driver Responsibility fees by the State of Michigan.

These fees are much higher than the fees paid to the Court House, and they are assessed for two years in a row.

The price for not paying the state these fees? You’re license gets suspended.

The Driver Responsibility program, which became law in 2003, assesses an additional administrative fee from $250 to $1,000 for two years to drivers who violate certain parts of the traffic code or who receive a certain number of points on their driving records — even after they have paid any fines and penalties handed down by a judge.

Both Huron County District Court Judge David B. Herrington and District Court Administrator Elaine Moore explained that many times, people leave the Court House after paying their ticket, fines and/or court costs, and they think everything’s paid off. But they don’t realize they will have another bill to pay to the Michigan Department of Treasury for Driver Responsibility fees.

Proponents say fees deter dangerous driving

The Driver Responsibility Program was created by Public Act 165 of 2003. According to the bill’s analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency, the rational behind creating the Driver Responsibility was the idea that assessing a driver responsibility fee on people who have seven or more points on their records or who commit serious moving violations would be a deterrent to dangerous drivers.

The analysis includes information from a 2003 Detroit News article that found for the eight years preceding 2003, 1,822 people, an average of four per week, died in Michigan in accidents caused by drivers whose records contained moving violations, serious accidents, drunk driving convictions or license suspensions. Michigan ranked fourth among the states for this type of fatality, according to the article cited in the bill’s analysis.

The fiscal impact, as predicted by the Senate Fiscal Agency in the bill’s analysis was that it would generate up to $124.7 million a year if 100 percent of the amount billed was collected. The analysis notes New Jersey has had a similar program since 1984, and collections from amounts billed in the first year were 55.2 percent of the actual amount billed. In 1996, New Jersey contracted out its collections, and the collection rate was about 60 percent.

Michigan’s Driver Responsibility law requires revenues collected from Driver Responsibility fees go to the state’s General Fund, with collections in excess of $65 million directed to a newly created Fire Protection Fund.

Many can’t afford fees

A driver’s license will be suspended if he or she does not pay the fee in a timely fashion, resulting in the driver having to pay an additional $125 license reinstatement fee to the Michigan Secretary of State to have the license reinstated.

Herrington explained a classic situation is someone’s vehicle gets stopped by a police officer, and they’re notified they’re license is suspended. The driver, who didn’t realizes their licenses is suspended, learns it’s because they didn’t pay the Driver Responsibility fee to the state.

Since the initiation of driver responsibility fees, the number of charges of driving with a suspended license has skyrocketed, Herrington said.

Moore said the problem is many people who are suspended can’t afford to get their license back. She said the state has realized this is a problem and has begun accepting payment plans. In those situations, the state will lift a suspension if a payment plan is in place.

Herrington said the Michigan State Bar of Michigan has a task force that’s opposed to driver responsibility fees because it affects people who typically can’t afford them.

Proposals to eliminate program

State Sen. Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale) introduced a bill to eliminate driver responsibility fees Feb. 17. The bill has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

“It is past the time that the Driver Responsibility program should end. I voted against it in 2003 and have fought to eliminate it ever since,” Caswell stated in a Feb. 23 statement. “This terrible program was created as a quick and easy fix to the state’s budget problems, but it failed to generate the money promised. Instead of making difficult decisions, the Legislature and Governor tried to balance the budget on the backs working families that cannot afford an additional draw on their limited resources.”

According to Caswell’s office, roughly $1.2 billion has been assessed in driver responsibility fees, but only about $626 million has been collected, which is a return off about 51 percent. As of January, nearly 2.5 million people have had their license suspended.

A staffer from Caswell’s office told the Tribune the Appropriation Committee’s current focus has been crafting a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but the hope is to see some movement on the bill to eliminate driver responsibility fees in the future.

However, while there are many people opposed to driver responsibility fees, there’s opposition to eliminating the fees without having something in place to replace the revenue created by the fees.

State Sen. Mike Green, who represents Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Bay and Arenac counties, co-sponsored the bill to eliminate Driver Responsibility fees.

“I have nothing wrong with fining people that are breaking the law, I think that’s valid — we should do it and it’s right in all circumstances. But when you tack a fee on top of it, to me, is the height of ridiculous,” he told the Tribune Friday. “I think the facts have proven that nothing has changed since that’s happened, other than it attracts more money to the state’s coffers.”

Green said if the state needs more money to balance its excessive spending, it should find other ways to do it.

“To raise fees on a person that commits a driving infraction just so the state can get more money, to me, it’s not right and it’s not the right way government should operate,” he said.

Green said he and most of those in his Caucus feel lower income individuals suffer the most from the fines because they can’t afford to pay the fines and lose their license.

“And what does that cost the state when they can no longer driver to work? It’s just a vicious circle, and if it was a matter of curbing these infractions, I’d say I’m a little bit more open to think about that. But they didn’t pass that law to do that — they passed that law to raise more money for the state and I’m against that.”

As to what he feels the odds of the bill advancing in the future, Green felt the odds were good.

“Most of my people in my caucus feel the same way I do — when do we stop attacking people’s incomes with all sorts of ways to feed our system? And there’s a lot of things with the state system that are good, but there really are a lot of things we could do without and people would be better off without us doing these things,” he said.

Green said he doesn’t expect another revenue stream will be created to make up the loss of the fines being eliminated.

“But personal property tax, if we eliminate that, there needs to be a way to collect revenues for local cities and villages and townships dependent on local personal property tax revenue, even though that, to me, is a bad way of taxing people,” he said. “In that case, I would think we would need another revenue stream. But in this case, I think we can do without it.”

Kate Hessling • (989) 269-6461 • khessling@hearstnp.com

BOB: Offenses and penalties

Category 1 Points

Category 1 offenses, such as speeding, improper turns and following too closely, are assessed a fee based on the number of points on the driving record, with a required minimum of seven points. The fees assessed begin at $100 and increase by $50 for each additional point above seven points.

Category 2 Offenses

Certain offenses are classified as “qualifying offenses,” and carry their own driver responsibility fee that’s independent from the number of points on the driving record. Drivers convicted of qualifying offenses will be assessed a driver responsibility fee of $150, $200, $500 or $1,000 for two consecutive years. The amount is determined by the relative seriousness of the offense.

For example:

• Drunk driving = $1,000

• Reckless driving = $500

• No proof of insurance = $200

• Drove while license expired = $150

Source: www.michigan.gov/driverresponsibility

Sign our online petition to repeal the Drivers Responsibility Fee

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/7/Repeal-the-Drivers-Responsibility-Fee/

Join us on Facebook, to sign the online petition to repeal this law!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100002395473154

DRF Payment Installment Plan has changed!

The Michigan DRF law has changed regarding the installment payment plan.

• Installment agreements for any amount
• Payment arrangements allowed for up to 24 months
• Driver may obtain driving priviledges with an approved payment arrangement
• Driver may have suspension terminated, before payment is made in full
• Driver's reinstatement fee can be included in the installation agreement

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/driverresponsibility/DRFLawChanges_272930_7.pdf

The pressure is on! The state government knows the days are numbered for this law. We will continue the fight!

Contact your representative. Let them know how this law has effected you.

We have to contact our State government. Let them know how this law has effected you. It is our duty to do something as citizens to make the change. If we do nothing, we can only expect nothing will change.

The links below have direct email links to your representatives for your district.

I think it is important to tell them how deeply this law has effected your family and yourself.

http://house.michigan.gov/replist.asp

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/fysenator.htm

Feel free to comment and tell us how this law has effected you too.

More Driver Responsibility fee's for minor offenses! Driving with an Expired License.

As of August 10th 2010. If you are caught driving with an expired license. You will be accessed a $150 DRF a year. For 2 years in the State of Michigan.

Double Dipping

Double Dipping is the act of two different jurisdictions, or government entity charging fee's for the same offense. Which is why we are here. Help us expose this injustice to our Legislator's. I will be posting a contact list for every district soon.

Welcome to the Michigan Drivers Responsibility Fee Blog

Welcome to the MIDRF blog. We are going to address the issues with this legislation, and how it effects the residents of Michigan. This will be the platform for citizens to fight this law that financial impairs its citizens. We will also address other issues regarding DUI, Driving without a license, and no proof of insurance.

We will look at the fee system, and how it has changed since Michigan's economic downturn.