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Senate passes bill to ease driver's-license barriers for people released from prison
Summary
Senate Bill 216 passed unanimously; the bill extends certain license-expiration rules, requires Service Oklahoma to notify eligible people and authorizes provisional work/school licenses and DOC documentation before release.
The Oklahoma Senate gave final passage to Senate Bill 216, legislation aimed at reducing driver's-license barriers for people leaving prison.
Senator Bergstrom told the Senate that SB 216 extends a driver's license for people whose licenses expired within three years of release so they have six months after release to obtain or renew a license. The bill also requires Service Oklahoma to provide timely notice to people whose licenses were revoked, to enter agreements for provisional licenses for work, school, treatment and other specified activities, and directs the Department of Corrections to provide inmates documentation needed for provisional licenses before release.
Bergstrom said the language was agreed to by both the Department of Corrections and Service Oklahoma and that the bill's effective date was moved back one year to allow for implementation. "I started working on this 9 years ago," Bergstrom said, giving examples of people who could not get licenses for many years after release.
The Senate advanced the bill on unanimous consent in committee and later recorded a final-passage vote of 44 ayes and 0 nays on third reading.
Provisions described on the floor included: extending certain expirations tied to release dates, mandatory notice from Service Oklahoma to affected individuals, provisional licensing for work and treatment purposes, and pre-release documentation by DOC. The bill's sponsors said the changes are intended to help formerly incarcerated people secure employment and reenter communities more quickly.
