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SB 694

Compensation of the Descendants of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Ernest Thomas

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Kristen Arrington and 19 co-sponsors

Automatically restore licenses revoked solely for nonpayment 36 months after the most recent conviction, with a restoration fee, to reduce employment barriers and restore mobility.

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Bill Summary · SB 694

Summary — SB 694: Remove Barriers to Employment from Court Debt

Status: Passed 1st Reading (Introduced Feb 21, 2025)
Primary purpose: Reduce employment barriers created by driver’s license revocations tied solely to unpaid court fines, penalties, or costs and improve data/notification systems to monitor and mitigate impacts.

Key provisions

  • Automatic expiration / restoration of revocations based solely on nonpayment

    • A driver’s license suspended or revoked solely because the person failed to pay a fine, penalty, or court costs for a motor‑vehicle offense (i.e., reported under G.S. 20‑24.2(2)) will be automatically restored after 36 months from the date of the most recent conviction, unless the revocation is related to an offense under G.S. 20‑138.1.
    • Restored drivers must pay the statutory restoration fee (set by G.S. 20‑7(i1)) before relicensing when applicable.
    • Revocation orders remain effective starting 60 days after the order is mailed or personally delivered to the driver (keeps existing timing rule).

  • Preservation of existing remedies and limited privileges

    • The bill preserves courts’ authority to grant limited driving privileges (up to one year or until fines/costs are paid) and retains other paths to resolve revocations (e.g., paying, good‑faith payment plans, showing nonwillfulness).

  • Reporting and data collection requirements

    • Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) must collect and publish a report (due no later than Oct 1, 2025) summarizing: number of suspensions terminated because of the change; number of licenses reinstated; fees waived (including reinstatement fees); and fines/fees waived in prosecutions for Driving While License Revoked. All data must be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and ZIP code, and include charge level, court, and suspension length.
    • The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) must collect related compliance and collections data from courts to support monitoring.

  • Notification and implementation mechanics

    • The DMV and AOC are directed to develop procedures to implement restorations and to inform drivers when suspensions are terminated.
    • The bill authorizes an appropriation to implement a text reminder system for court dates (no dollar amount specified in the available text).

  • Statutory changes

    • Amends G.S. 20‑24.1, 20‑24.2, and cross‑references in criminal/fine‑collection statutes (e.g., G.S. 15A‑1116) to align reporting and DMV notification processes with these changes.

Who is affected

  • Primary: North Carolina drivers whose licenses are suspended/revoked solely for nonpayment of fines, penalties, or court costs (excluding suspensions tied to G.S. 20‑138.1).
  • Secondary: DMV and AOC (administrative workload for data collection, notifications, and process changes); courts (reporting responsibilities); employers and communities potentially benefiting from increased mobility and employment access.
  • Potential equity effects: Data disaggregation is intended to track disparate impacts (race, ethnicity, gender, geography).

Timeline / Effective dates

  • DMV data/report requirement: on or before Oct 1, 2025.
  • General implementation / statutory effective date: December 1, 2025 (applies to revocations issued before, on, or after that date).
  • Automatic license restoration trigger: 36 months after the most recent motor‑vehicle conviction, for qualifying revocations.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Benefits: Restores driving privileges for people unable to pay court debt, which may improve employment opportunities and reduce secondary penalties (DWR prosecutions, fines).
  • Administrative costs: DMV and AOC will incur implementation and reporting burdens; there will be costs to build/operate the court‑date text reminder system (amount unspecified).
  • Law enforcement / legal: May reduce the number of prosecutions for Driving While License Revoked and change court collection dynamics.
  • Exceptions: Revocations related to serious offenses (G.S. 20‑138.1) are excluded from the automatic restoration provision.

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact statutory text changes and present side‑by‑side amendments for G.S. 20‑24.1 and 20‑24.2; or
- Draft a short explainer for affected drivers describing how to confirm eligibility and the steps to get a restored license.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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