House committee considers five-year look-back to restore driving privileges for thousands
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Summary
The House Committee on Transportation took testimony on House Bill 24 67, which would prevent courts and the Division of Vehicles from considering convictions or sanctions for failure-to-comply traffic citations older than five years when suspending or restricting driving privileges; KDOR estimated about 25,000 drivers could be reinstated and the fiscal note is $10,600 for mailings and system updates.
The House Committee on Transportation held a hearing on House Bill 24 67, which would amend KSA 8-21,110 to exclude convictions and sanctions for failure-to-comply traffic citations older than five years from consideration when courts or the Division of Vehicles determine suspended or restricted driving privileges.
Committee staff explained that subsection h, added in Senate Bill 500, established a five-year look-back but applied only to convictions. The bill before the committee would extend that five-year exclusion to administrative sanctions and remove a separate mailing-notice requirement, while applying the change retroactively; staff said the bill would take effect July 1, 2026.
Advocates and stakeholders widely supported the change as a technical fix that would unclog licensing barriers. Advocate Marilyn Harp said about 125,881 Kansans had licenses suspended for failure to comply as of October 2023 and that the bill could immediately reinstate roughly 25,000 drivers. Lacey Black, manager of Driver Solutions at the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles, provided neutral testimony and confirmed the department’s estimate and described the IT work required: batch jobs to generate notices and permanent system updates to mark five‑year expirations.
The committee reviewed the fiscal note: $10,600, with approximately $4,000 for mailing reinstatement letters and $6,600 for programming and research. Witnesses and members discussed whether reinstatement would reduce courts’ leverage to collect fines and whether municipal courts’ practices—fee accruals, collections, or waivers—would remain unchanged; KDOR and advocates said fines and fees owed to courts would remain in place even if driving privileges were restored.
Several witnesses urged technical clarifications. Representative Rick Wilburn said he would request an amendment to restore language that delineates the changes as affecting only driving privileges, and he asked KDOR’s Lacey Black to work with staff on proposed language before the committee works the bill. The hearing closed with no opponent testimony.
