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Committee discusses "Share Act" proposal to add fines for highway funding; sends measure to summer study
Summary
Senate Bill 15-72 (the Share Act) proposing additional fines ($25 for moving violations, $50 for commercial vehicles, $100 for DUI) to fund the state highway fund drew questions about waiver authority, municipal fine caps, and enforcement incentives; legal counsel said the measure involves criminal fines and potential jury processes. The committee voted to send the proposal to a summer study.
Senate Bill 15-72, a proposal to add fines to traffic and DUI offenses to raise revenue for the state highway fund, drew detailed legal and policy questions before the committee agreed to send it to summer study.
Sponsor Senator Lowe described the amendment as moving the effective date and adding assessment amounts to be deposited into the state highway fund: $25 for moving violations, $50 for commercial vehicles and $100 for DUI violations. "This is simply a proposal that says... maybe they should shoulder some of the burden on the roads," the sponsor said.
Members questioned whether the fees could be waived, how the measure interacts with municipal fee caps, and whether additional fines would change enforcement or citation behavior. Legal counsel explained that constitutional provisions related to municipal fines might require jury procedures for prosecutions above a $50 threshold and that the measure would function as a state-level criminal fine collected locally.
Several senators expressed concern that added fines could create perverse incentives for enforcement or disproportionately burden low-income drivers; the sponsor agreed to further study. The committee voted without objection to send the proposal to a summer study to refine details and framework.
