For those of you who'd like the opportunity to (politely, respectfully) tell the Legislature how this surcharge has affected you and/or your family, this hearing will be a good opportunity. It's a welcome sign that the bill has received a public hearing - many do not - and though the hospitals will come out in opposition, we may have reached a tipping point where the problems created by the surcharge, particularly regarding declining DWI convictions, now outweigh the benefits.
For more background, see written testimony (pdf) I helped prepare last year for this committee on behalf of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and these prior, related Grits posts:
- What's the one thing John Whitmire and Leo Berman have in common?
- Declining DWI convictions and the unmitigated failure of the Driver Responsibility surcharge
- Federal suit filed to declare Driver Responsibility surcharge unconstitutional
- DPS Director: No public safety benefit from Driver Responsibility Surcharge
- Prosecutors altering charging decisions to avoid Driver Responsibility surcharge
- Driver surcharge boosting Texas joblessness
- Unexplored costs from DPS surcharge harm safety, the economy
- Driver Responsibility surcharge 'devastating' for court system
- Bill author says 'overly punitive' Driver Responsibility surcharge a 'mistake'
.jpg)
10 comments:
I think both sides of the bar, defense and prosecution, can largely agree that surcharges are not the answer. Surcharges are crippling to the most marginalized and impoverished sections of our society. We often ask people to comply with probation terms that require constant travel (i.e. reporting monthly, attending classes, seeking employment), but take away the person's ability to legally travel to comply. The bottom line: people have to drive, so people are going to drive. As a result, we stack insurmountable fines, fees, surcharges on one another, and we have roadways full of "outlaws" and uninsured motorists. If legislators actually listen to the people dealing with the surcharge issues, I have no doubt they'll be abolished. I'm sure it's just wishful thinking on my part.
Good for Leo Berman. The folks that don't like him don't appreciate his flexibility and resourcefulness.
If the lege were to accomplish just one good thing this session, it would be great if it were to abolish this foolish program.
This is great news. Too bad it won't get me a refund for the roughly $1,200 the state scammed me out of by way of this poorly conceived law a few years ago.
Just exactly what is Leo Berman's motivation for this bill? Excuse my pessimism but I honestly don't see where this legislation benefits Berman, and I can't comprehend him pushing this just because it's the right and necessary thing to do. This is Texas, and Berman is an almost fanatical right-winger. Something doesn't add up here.
At any rate I'd bet an eye tooth it doesn't get any further than this hearing. Maybe his true motivation will surface later this session.
I support the abolishment of this terrible program. I have never had to pay a surcharge, so I’m speaking as one who has seen the terrible, muddled system that has come as a result of what appears to me to be a money grab by our state government.
Thats one of the best things I've heard in a long time.
Because of a charge that had nothing to do with driving,my license got suspended. I had to take a drug offender class,have to pay a surcharge,have to pay a reinstatement fee,have to get a SR-22,then of course I have to get a job to get a car except I don't have a way to go look for a job because I don't have a car. Being I live in a rural area theres no buses so whenever i can borrow a car,I have to take a chance of driving with a suspended license.
Thank you Texas for making it easy for me to be a good law abiding citizen.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, 9:16!
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=HB1810
Haven't seen this proposal much talked about yet, authored by Lon Burnam, who's on the H.S.&P.S. Committee. It includes revenue replacement with even more taxes on tobacco, but who knows maybe it's a positive sign too?
After all that State Rep. Leo Berman had to say about double jeopardy and how this stupid law was unfair, as soon as the comptroller informed him of the 86 million that would be lost per year by those that do pay, this snake repealed his on bill that he authored. Guess revenue does outweigh citizens constitutional rights! For God sakes, someone please correct me if I'm not seeing this correctly.
Post a Comment