Lawmakers Compare Unpopular Driver Surcharge Program to Debtors' Prison

During last year's legislative session, the Senate approved a proposal to weaken the program. That measure died in the House. However, another bill passed that reduced some of the surcharges. Senators' comments at Wednesday's hearing suggested a strong interest in either dramatically reforming the program or scrapping it entirely when the Legislature meets again next year.
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Elizabeth Henneke, a policy attorney at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, endorsed that approach and recommended using court costs and fees to replace any lost trauma care funding. She described one case she worked on in which a single DWI for a 67-year-old woman eventually escalated into $25,000 in fines and several prison stays.

​https://www.texastribune.org/2016/01/27/state-senators-criticize-driver-responsibility-pro/