Wichita legislators, Black community activists and Gov. Laura Kelly took a victory lap Friday on a new law to make it easier to get back on the road for people whose driver’s licenses are suspended over unpaid traffic tickets. The measure, Senate Bill 127, is expected to have a substantial positive effect for tens of thousands of low-income Kansans who’ve been hit with traffic fines, court costs and late fees they can never realistically be expected to pay, the governor said. “What have we got, 205,000 people with suspended licenses in the state of Kansas?” Kelly said. “We know that 60% of those are still suspended because they can’t afford the fees, not because the punishment is that much. They just can’t pay the court fees.” …SB 127 allows courts to waive traffic fines and court fees if a judge finds that “payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the person or the person’s immediate family.”
Source: Wichita Eagle
