An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Pay Up, Or Don’t Drive!
Thousands of Tennesseans could lose their licenses
The impact of a law that gives Tennessee court clerks a powerful tool for collecting unpaid court costs will soon be felt when thousands of people begin losing their driver’s licenses.
The law says defendants have a year to pay all court costs in misdemeanor and felony cases or the Department of Safety will automatically revoke their licenses. It took effect last July, and the one-year grace period to pay is coming to an end for some defendants.
I’ll be honest…this is the first I’ve heard about this new law, probably because I haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention to what has been going on in the state I where I live. Why? Not sure, but I bet it has something to do with the fact of where we actually live, and our local paper isn’t real forthcoming on actual news concerning state issues. 
Not knowing all the facts of the law, I’d have to say, at this point, I rather agree. When a person fails to pay their debts, everyone suffers from their lack of responsibility. How? Well, if I don’t pay what I owe to the courts, the burden for the costs falls to the taxpayers….that would be you (residents of the state). I don’t actually have any court costs due, just using as an example.
Those folks who have outstanding debts to the court system would be wise to deal with them, but I wonder if they were as unaware of this new law as I was? Were notices sent out to the debtors that they only had a year to deal with the issue?
Court officials told The Knoxville News Sentinel that they welcome a new way to collect millions of dollars in outstanding debts, but they worry about the burden on an already overloaded court system.
I’m not sure why getting money would be a burden on the court system. Aren’t their clerks who deal with such payments? I’m also wondering if there is a way to set up a payment plan for the folks who owe. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but we are in a major economic crisis right now, and most people would have a hard time coming up with a large chunk of change all at once.
Court clerks will be providing the information to the state about who hasn’t paid their fines.
Yes….but will they be notifying those who owe? Or just the state? And honestly, it shouldn’t cost diddly, or very little to send a flash drive to the powers that be with that info. Or maybe 2 flash drives, depending on the number of folks, and the size of the drive. Then again, we all know that whether federal, state, or local, no gubmint bureaucracy is efficient, and nothing they do saves a dime. Just sayin’.
” I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but we are in a major economic crisis right now, and most people would have a hard time coming up with a large chunk of change all at once.” One should think..Can I afford speeding ticket. If the answer is “NO” then dont speed. Problem solved!
LOL That is true…when it comes to tickets. I can’t afford one, but I don’t speed anyway, so not a major. I think this bill includes ALL court costs though, not just fines for speeding.