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Committee hears wide support for 'Road to Opportunity' bill to end debt‑based license suspensions
Summary
Witnesses including state and municipal officials, the attorney general's office, legal and civil‑rights groups, and affected residents urged the Joint Committee on Transportation to report favorably on legislation (S.2368 / H.3662) that would end automatic driver's license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees.
State lawmakers heard broad testimony in favor of the Road to Opportunity Act (Senate Bill 2368, House Bill 3662) during a joint public hearing of the House and Senate Joint Committee on Transportation, with witnesses saying the bills would remove a major barrier to work and reduce racial and economic disparities.
Supporters told the committee the bills would end automatic license suspensions and registration holds that are triggered solely by unpaid fines and allow people to seek waivers or reductions based on financial hardship while preserving public‑safety related suspensions.
"There is quite a bit of harm in the debt based license suspensions that we currently have in Massachusetts," Senator Julian Cyr told the committee in his opening testimony for the measure. "A suspended license prevents individuals from working, caring for their families, getting to school, meeting essential needs, such as medical appointments, grocery shopping." (Senator Julian Cyr)
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's office, represented by…
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