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Committee backs option for civil $150 penalty as alternative to arrest for driving on suspended license

2796738 · March 27, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Senate committee recommended a due pass for House Bill 1422, which would allow officers to issue a civil $150 penalty for driving without a valid license as an optional alternative to arrest for driving under suspension, a change supporters say could reduce court and indigent defense costs.

The Senate Transportation Committee voted to give House Bill 1422 a “do pass” recommendation after hearing from the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents and law-enforcement supporters.

Travis Fink, executive director of the commission that oversees public defense delivery in North Dakota, described the bill as an optional civil pathway for officers who stop a driver with a suspended license. Under current law, a driving-under-suspension arrest is a criminal matter that can expose a defendant to jail time and requires the appointment of counsel for indigent…

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