The latest driver responsibility program news from The Texas Tribune.
More than 600,000 Texans will immediately be eligible to have their driver's licenses reinstated after the program's Sept. 1 repeal. The system was widely criticized for adding additional annual fees on top of the price of tickets, but all pending surcharges will soon be waived. Full Story
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The bill to end the unpopular program, which adds annual surcharges on top of traffic fines — and prompts the suspension of millions of driver's licenses — is headed for Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. If he signs it, pending surcharges will be dropped. Full Story
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The Texas House tentatively approved a bill Thursday that would repeal the tough-to-kill Driver Responsibility Program, which critics say traps low-income drivers in a cycle of debt. Full Story
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In Texas, people with unpaid traffic tickets can lose their driver's licenses and even go to jail because of the Driver Responsibility Program. Though lawmakers acknowledge the policy disproportionately hurts the poor, they've struggled to eliminate it. Full Story
Mandy Mann thought she had paid her dues for a 2009 traffic stop. But six years later, the Waco mom was stopped and arrested — for failing to comply with the state's troubled Driver Responsibility Program. Full Story
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A measure to repeal the widely unpopular program made it out of the House but died before hitting the Senate floor. Full Story
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State senators expressed bipartisan disapproval Wednesday of an unpopular program that levies large surcharges on drivers for traffic offenses, with several calling for broad changes or scrapping it entirely. Full Story
The Texas Senate voted Thursday to weaken the state’s Driver Responsibility Program, which critics say unfairly penalizes poor Texans. Full Story
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For years, critics have called for an end to the Driver Responsibility Program. But because the program brings in millions of dollars every year, it has proved stubbornly hard to kill. Full Story
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UPDATED: Lawmakers are unlikely to abolish the Driver Responsibility Program next year, but at a hearing Monday, they encouraged critics of it to submit recommendations for reform. Full Story
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A new incentive program will allow some low-income drivers to pay reduced surcharges under the Driver Responsibility Program. Thousands of Texans' licenses have been suspended as a result of the controversial program. Full Story
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Lawmakers are once again working to end a surcharge program they say is ineffective and unfair. But the program also provides millions of dollars to trauma centers across Texas. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety today announced the start of a program to help poor drivers pay off expensive surcharges and get their driver's licenses back. Full Story
Lawmakers at the Capitol debate eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception. Full Story
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Lawmakers at the Capitol today debated eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception. Full Story
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Lives are at stake if the Legislature fails to appropriate the full amount of the Driver Responsibility Program fund, medical professionals said at a Capitol press conference today. Full Story
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Some of the 1.2 million Texas drivers whose licenses have been suspended because they failed to pay expensive traffic ticket surcharges can catch a big break right now from the Department of Public Safety. Full Story
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, wants to end something besides illegal immigration and federal intrusion into health care in Texas. Full Story
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The Texas Public Safety Commission today approved a slate of rules meant to allow thousands of drivers to get their licenses back. Full Story
On Tuesday, a House committee heard arguments over the future of the controversial Driver Responsibility Program — which pits outrage over heavy traffic fines on the poor against the state's need to finance trauma care in hospitals, which benefit from the fines. Full Story
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