Relating to the suspension of a person’s driver’s license for unlawful or fraudulent uses, and including applicability provisions

Under current law, the department of transportation (DOT) is authorized to adopt rules providing for the suspension of a person’s driver’s license for up to one year upon 30 days’ notice and without preliminary hearing upon a showing by the DOT’s records or other sufficient evidence that the person has, among other things, permitted an unlawful or fraudulent use of the person’s license. However, if the suspension is due to a person under the age of 21 altering, displaying, or possessing a fictitious or fraudulently altered driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card to obtain alcohol, the DOT is authorized to suspend the license for up to six months. 216C (use of driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card by underage person to obtain tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, vapor products, or cigarettes). The bill also prohibits the DOT from issuing a temporary restricted license while a person’s driver’s license is suspended pursuant to the bill, and prevents a person from applying for a temporary restricted license due to hardship or circumstances where alternative means of transportation do not exist.216B.216C. A driver’s license that has been suspended is eligible for reinstatement following the period of suspension upon payment of a $20 reinstatement fee. The bill applies to suspensions for the unlawful or fraudulent use of a driver’s license on or after July 1, 2027.