Committee hears proposal to cut driver's license fees for SSI, SSDI recipients

Montpelier — The House Committee on Transportation on April 29 heard testimony on Section 8 of S.123, a miscellaneous Department of Motor Vehicles bill that would reduce operator-license fees for Vermonters receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Angela Smith Jang, deputy commissioner at the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, told the committee the bill would lower a four‑year operator's license fee from $62 to $20 and cut the replacement license fee from $24 to $10. "This change supports increased choice and independence for these populations," she said, adding that lower fees help people on limited incomes maintain transportation access that supports social connection, health and employment.

The change, she said, is especially important in rural Vermont, where public transportation options are limited. Smith Jang presented survey findings she said were drawn from the State Plan on Aging Needs Assessment: 68 percent of respondents drive their own vehicle; 30 percent reported lacking access to affordable transportation; 33 percent said they have just enough income to pay expenses; and 12 percent said they do not have enough income to pay expenses. "By providing these discounted fees, one barrier is reduced and every barrier reduced really matters," she said.

Committee members acknowledged the potential benefit but pressed for fiscal context and origin. Representative Hough questioned the proposal's efficiency, saying an estimated cost is "300,000 per year" and asking whether that money would yield more impact if directed into other programs. Committee members and staff said they had not been able to locate the bill's origin amid recent turnover in leadership and legislative staff. Smith Jang said the idea had not come across her desk in her eight years with the department.

Committee members also asked about whether the fee reduction would address documented cases of people being unable to obtain licenses because of cost; Smith Jang said she had qualitative evidence of transportation affordability challenges but no data tying the fee specifically to people being prevented from getting a license. When asked where a person on SSI or SSDI would turn if they could not afford a license, Smith Jang suggested community‑based organizations such as area agencies on aging or community action agencies rather than her department.

No committee action was taken during the testimony. Members discussed the item as part of broader consideration of S.123 and noted the Department of Motor Vehicles modernization effort later in the year that committee members expect may change some administrative processes related to eligibility and fee processing.

The committee did not vote on Section 8 during the session and did not direct staff to take a specific follow‑up action on the fee reduction during this testimony.