Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021
Latest action · Feb 3, 2022 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 260.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 25, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to states that do not suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a driver's license of an individual based on such individual's failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee.
Grants shall be awarded to (1) cover the costs incurred by a state to reinstate driver's licenses previously suspended for unpaid fines and fees; (2) maximize the number of individuals with suspended driver's licenses eligible to have driving privileges reinstated or regained; (3) provide assistance to individuals living in areas where public transportation options are limited; and (4) ease the burden on states where the state or local law that permitted the suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, driver's licenses or the registration of a motor vehicle based on the failure to pay civil or criminal fines or fees was in effect during the three year period ending on the date on which a state applies for or receives a grant under this bill.
The Government Accountability Office must study the implementation of the grant program authorized by this bill, including the known effects of repealing state laws that have permitted the suspension, revocation, or refusal of a driver's license or motor vehicle registration based on the failure to pay civil or criminal fines or fees.
Cosponsors 13
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 25, 2021 to Oct 28, 2021; 9 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-IA | Chuck Grassley | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-OK | James Lankford | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-IA | Joni Ernst | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Mar 25, 2021 |
| R-NC | Thom Tillis | May 13, 2021 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | May 25, 2021 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Oct 7, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Jon Ossoff | Oct 28, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 25, 2021Markup Oct 28, 2021Reported Feb 3, 2022 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 3, 2022Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Feb 3, 2022Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 260.
- Oct 28, 2021Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Mar 25, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Mar 25, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jan 19, 2022S. 998, Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 28, 2021
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2453 | Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021 | Related bill | Apr 20, 2021 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide grants to States that do not suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a driver's license of a person or refuse to renew a registration of a motor vehicle for failure to pay a civil or criminal fine or fee, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- Driving for Opportunity Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Economic performance and conditions
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Law enforcement administration and funding
- Licensing and registrations
- Motor vehicles
- Roads and highways
- State and local government operations
- Transportation and Public Works
- Transportation programs funding
- Transportation safety and security
- Unemployment
- User charges and fees
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 3, 2022Reported to Senate
- Mar 25, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
