BILL NUMBER: S6945

SPONSOR: PERSAUD
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend chapter 81 of the laws of 1995, amending the vehicle and
traffic law and other laws relating to the enforcement of support
through the suspension of driving privileges, in relation to the effec-
tiveness thereof

 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

This bill will extend the driver license suspension process for two
years.   
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill will amend subdivision 19 of § 246 of Chapter 81
of the Laws of 1995 as amended by Chapter 183 of the Laws of 2021 to
extend the expiration date of the administrative driver license suspen-
sion process until August 31, 2025.

Section 2 of the bill will provide for an immediate effective date, or
if the bill is enacted on or after the current law's expiration date, it
              

will be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after August
31, 2023.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill will extend the driver license suspension process, a highly
successful enforcement process to collect child support obligations.
Using this process, the Child Support Program is able to: (1) identify a
parent who fails to pay child support and who also has a driver license;
and (2) notify the parent that their driver license will be suspended
unless child support payments are paid.

Federal law requires that each State must have a driver license suspen-
sion process to improve the effectiveness of child support enforcement
(42 United States Code § 666 (a)(161)). New York's administrative proc-
ess satisfies this federal requirement and accounts for substantial
collections each year. The expiration of this enforcement tool will have
a considerable impact on New York families.

Failing to extend the driver license suspension process would result in
the loss of a powerful deterrent for the non-payment of child support
obligations. The driver license suspension process accounts for approxi-
mately $10 million in child support collections annually, with approxi-
mately 95 percent of the collections going to families.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This provision was last extended by Chapter 183 of the Laws of 2021 from
August 31, 2021 to August 31, 2023.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The bill provides for an immediate effective date and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on and after August 31, 2023.