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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 27, 2016 11:52 AM |
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| From: | Representative Patty Kim |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Providing Greater Discretion to the Courts Concering the Suspension of Driver's License |
| In the very near future, I will be introducing legislation proposing to amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statues for the purpose granting Pennsylvania courts greater discretion in determining whether or not to send conviction records of those convicted of the offense of possession of a small amount of marijuana to PennDOT. Currently, any person that is convicted of the offense of possession of a small amount of marijuana (30 grams or less) is subject to having his or her driver’s license suspended, regardless of whether or not a motor vehicle was involved. Specifically, for a first offense (regardless of whether the amount was a 0.1 grams or 30 grams), one’s driver’s license is suspended for six months; a second offense nets a one-year suspension; and a third or subsequent offense nets a two-year suspension. Many of our local magisterial justices have lamented over the fact that they lack the flexibility to grant a reprieve to certain defendants that are deserving of a second chance or when the totality of the underlying circumstances in the case necessitate it. This is especially true during instances when individuals are charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and no other Vehicle Code violations have occurred. Therefore, if you wish to provide Pennsylvania judges with greater discretion to exercise their independent sense of judiciousness, I ask that you please join me as a co-sponsor of this very important and common-sense initiative. For more information regarding this measure, please contact Tajuanna Franklin at 717.783-9342 or TFranklin@pahouse.net. |
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