Committee hears bill to add $150 traffic fine for driving on suspended licenses

Representative Anna Novak, sponsor of House Bill 1422, told the Senate Transportation Committee that the bill would impose a $150 fine for driving with a suspended license and allow courts to amend a DUS (driving under suspension) charge to a noncriminal “no driver's license” citation if an operator's license is reinstated within 60 days.

The bill, Novak said, responds to repeated incidents reported by a constituent and police chief from Beulah; she asked the committee to hear the measure and the committee did so without taking a vote.

The chief who brought the proposal, Frank Sen, testified that “driving under suspension is a huge issue in the state of North Dakota,” and described operational strains on law enforcement and courts when DUS cases require must‑appear criminal processing that can later be dismissed if a driver regains a license within 60 days. Sen said the bill aims to preserve deterrence while reducing resource burdens: under the proposal the reduced disposition would carry a $150 fine and no points on a driving record rather than the current $20 fine with four points.

Stephanie Ingebretsen, appearing for the Chiefs of Police Association of North Dakota, backed the change as a compromise meant to avoid needlessly removing people from the workforce and to stop what she called a treadmill in which DUS charges are routinely dismissed after license reinstatement. She summarized the plan: officers would have discretion at a traffic stop to issue either a traffic citation for driving without a license (the proposed $150 traffic fine) or pursue a criminal DUS charge when a more serious circumstance or longer suspension is suspected.

Committee members asked about discretion and whether the change would actually deter unlawful driving. Senator Corey questioned whether decriminalizing some cases would reduce deterrence; Chief Sen and Ingebretsen answered that unpaid traffic fines would lead to administrative suspension and that the intent is to create a predictable consequence where currently dismissal is common. Senator Rummel and others raised concerns about points and insurance consequences and asked whether a smaller point penalty might be preferable; Sen and Ingebretsen said they were willing to discuss refinements but emphasized the proposed zero‑point change was intended to avoid pushing reinstated drivers back into long suspensions.

The hearing closed with no committee action recorded on House Bill 1422.

The measure, as presented, would (1) allow a court to amend a DUS charge to a traffic citation if a license is reinstated within 60 days, (2) reclassify the reduced disposition as a noncriminal traffic offense to avoid mandatory indigent defense appointment, and (3) set the reduced citation's fine at $150 with no points, according to sponsors and proponents.