NY Replaces Drivers’ License Suspensions with Payment Plans for Ticket Non-Payment

   Instead of suspending the drivers’ licenses of New Yorkers who are unable to pay their traffic tickets, a new law takes effect today that will create affordable payment plans for drivers who cannot afford their fines or missed their traffic hearings.

     Under the state’s new ticket payment plans, New Yorkers will pay off their traffic fines by allocating either 2% of their monthly incomes or $25 a month: whichever is greater.

     The Driver’s License Suspension Reform Act, which was sponsored by Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo and Assembly member Pamela Hunter of Syracuse, approved by New York legislature last year, and signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

     The new law, which goes into effect today, will apply to both future drivers who cannot pay their tickets and those whose licenses were suspended after tickets went unpaid.

     In addition, today, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who lost their licenses after failing to pay for traffic tickets, will get their driver’s licenses reinstated.

     The state suspended nearly 1.7 million drivers’ licenses between January 2016 and April 2018, but the practice did not seem to help in getting New Yorkers to pay up.

     “Suspending a license for failure to pay a fine does nothing but punish low-income families that are disproportionately people of color,” Assembly member Hunter said. “An income-based payment plan is fair and ensures everyone has an opportunity to resolve their license issues.”