S.B. 261: COMMITTEE SUMMARY - DRIVER LICENSE QUALIFICATIONS

Senate Bill 261 (as introduced 3-4-97)

Date Completed: 4-23-97

CONTENT

The bill would amend the operator's and chauffeur's licensing provisions of the Michigan Vehicle Code to do the following:

-- Prohibit the issuance of a license to a minor unless he or she had obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, or was enrolled in and regularly attending a public or nonpublic school or a home school.

-- Require a minor who had been issued a traffic citation to produce, when paying the violation's fines and costs, written evidence that he or she had graduated from high school or was regularly attending school.

-- Require the court, if a minor did not produce evidence of school attendance, to destroy his or her license; and, require the Secretary of State to suspend the license until the evidence was produced or the minor reached 18 years of age.

In addition to having to meet the Code's graduated licensing requirements, a person who was less than 18 years of age could not be issued an operator's or chauffeur's license unless he or she had obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent or was a student enrolled in a public or private school who was regularly attending, as determined by school officials, a public school or a nonpublic school, as described in the Revised School Code, or a home school, as determined by the parents and described in the Revised School Code.

(Under the Revised School Code's compulsory attendance provisions, a child is not required to attend a public school under certain circumstances, including the following: the child is attending regularly and is being taught in a State-approved nonpublic school that teaches subjects comparable to those taught in the public schools to children of corresponding age and grade, as determined by the course of study for the public schools or the district within which the nonpublic school is located; and, the child is being educated by his or her parent or legal guardian at the child's home in an organized educational program that is appropriate given the age, intelligence, ability, and any psychological limitations of the child, in the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar.)

A person, as an operator of a vehicle, who was less than 18 years of age and who was issued a citation for a violation of a State traffic law or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to a State traffic law, at the time of paying the fine and costs for the violation, would have to produce written evidence that he or she had graduated from high school or was regularly attending school as determined in the manner provided in the bill.

If the person did not produce the written evidence required in the bill, the court would have to require the person's license to be surrendered. The court would have to destroy the license immediately and forward to the Secretary of State an abstract of the court record, as required in the Vehicle Code. Upon receiving the abstract, the Secretary of State would have to suspend the person's license beginning with the date of refusal to produce the written evidence until the date that this evidence was produced or until the person attained 18 years of age.

MCL 257.310f & 257.330 - Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would result in increased administrative costs to the Department of State regarding suspension of driver's licenses. Costs are offset by driver license reinstatement fees paid by individuals when they apply for restoration of licenses. There are approximately 40,000 16- and 17-year-olds who have not graduated and are not attending school.

- Fiscal Analyst: B. Bowerman

S9798\S261SA

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.