Harrisburg, PA: Democratic Governor Tom Wolf has signed legislation into law eliminating mandatory driver’s license suspensions for a wide range of non-driving related crimes, including marijuana-related offenses.
House Bill 163 amends existing law so that those age 21 or older convicted of certain drug-related offenses unrelated to driving are no longer subject to the revocation of their license. Some 149,000 Pennsylvanians are estimated to have had their licenses suspended for non-driving related drug crimes between the years 2011 and 2016.
In 1991, federal lawmakers threatened to withhold transportation funding to state governments unless they mandated licenses suspensions for drug-related crimes. Today, fewer than a dozen states continue to impose such bans.
The new law abolishing the ban takes effect in six months.
For more information, contact Justin Strekal, NORML Political Director, at (202) 483-5500.