A bill that reforms the way individuals pay traffic tickets and the process by which driving licenses are suspended has advanced to the House.

While on the Senate floor, SB 5226 received an amendment authorizing the suspension of a person's driver's license or driving privileges if the person has failed to respond to a notice of traffic infraction for a moving violation or has failed to appear at a requested hearing for a moving violation. The new language removes the requirement that a court enter into a payment plan with a person who has failed to pay a monetary obligation associated with a traffic infraction if the court has previously entered into a payment plan with the person for the same monetary obligation.

SB 5226 decreases the time period from 120 days to 90 days from the date of the infraction before the court can refer an obligation to a collections agency. It authorizes a court to require a person who fails to pay under a payment plan to appear for a hearing and provide evidence of inability to pay.

Finally, the amendment clarifies that, when determining the number of infractions a person has committed, multiple traffic infractions issued during or as the result of a single traffic stop constitute a single occasion.

The amended bill retains cities’ share of traffic ticket revenue meant to constitute reimbursement for unfunded mandates. Cities will continue to receive $11.50 of a $24 fee, the remainder of which stays with the state.

The bill now moves to the House for further consideration.