Ding Dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch...

Governor Snyder signs bills to end driver responsibility fees, effective on Oct. 1, 2018

This last week, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation that ends the dreaded driver responsibility fees and wipes out $637 million in debt owed by nearly 350,000 drivers.  These fees have been attributed by numerous judges throughout the state as "creating a new class of criminals" for those that can't pay them.

Those Driver responsibility fees, ranging from $100 to $2,000, were passed in 2003 to create revenue for the state of Michigan. The fees were charged on top of tickets issued to drivers for everything from multiple speeding tickets, driving with a suspended license, to drunk driving.

Here are the specifics: 

No new driver responsibility fees will be issued and any outstanding debt will be wiped out beginning Oct. 1, 2018.

Drivers who have a CURRENT installment payment plan to pay off their driver responsibility fees and are current with those payments can have their remaining debt wiped out immediately and apply to have their licenses reinstated.

Drivers who aren't on payment plans, or aren't current, can get their licenses reinstated after Oct. 1 and will have the $125 reinstatement fee waived if they apply before Dec. 31, 2018.

If a driver's license has been suspended for four or more years, the driver must successfully complete a written test at the Secretary of State's office and a road skills driving test that is administered by a third party and costs roughly $50.  It is (and will be) a requirement to show pieces of identification revealing the driver has a Social Security number and is a resident of Michigan.

Any other driving fees, such as failure to appear in court on a traffic violation or driving on a suspended license, must be paid before a license can be reinstated.

The Secretary of State has a help line,  888-767-6424, and provides information on the state's website, www.michigan.gov/sos.  The Treasury Department has a help line @517-636-5240 to help drivers learn about the driver responsibility fee changes.