Starting April 22nd, 2019 one of the more interesting causes for a license suspension goes away. A new Pennsylvania law titled Pennsylvania ACT 95 of 2018 will eliminate the license suspension penalty for drug violations unrelated to driving. No longer will a simple possession charge that occurred in a home or away from a vehicle cause a driver’s license suspension. Anyone convicted prior to this still face the license suspension penalty as outlined. There was no mention or policy of retroactively removing suspension for those stuck today. We will keep a close eye on policies moving forward in case this changes in the future.
Photo by LexScope on Unsplash
The following adjustments were made to the current law. (bracketed text was deleted – the strikethrough was added by me.)
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2018&sessInd=0&act=95
§ 1532. Suspension of operating privilege.
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(c) Suspension.–The department shall suspend the operating privilege of [any person upon receiving a certified record of the person’s conviction of any offense involving the possession, sale, delivery, offering for sale, holding for sale or giving away of any controlled substance under the laws of the United States, this Commonwealth or any other state, or] any person 21 years of age or younger upon receiving a certified record of the person’s conviction or adjudication of delinquency under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706 (relating to terroristic threats) committed on or against any school property, including any public school grounds, during any school-sponsored activity or on any conveyance providing transportation to a school entity or school-sponsored activity[.] in accordance with the following:
(1) The period of suspension shall be as follows:
(i) For a first offense, a period of six months from the date of the suspension.
(ii) For a second offense, a period of one year from the date of the suspension.
(iii) For a third and any subsequent offense thereafter, a period of two years from the date of the suspension.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term “conviction” shall include any conviction or adjudication of delinquency for any of the offenses listed in paragraph (1), whether in this Commonwealth or any other Federal or state court.
The state did not remove the license suspension penalty for terroristic threats by those under 21 on school property as stated above, so § 1532 (c) remains in the law books for these violations.
A few other offenses that have been removed with this legislation….
6307 (relating to misrepresentation of age to secure liquor or malt or brewed beverages),
6308 (relating to purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor or malt or brewed beverages)
6310.3. Carrying a false identification card.
We spend a large portion of our time staying up to date on these law changes, policy changes, and shifts within PennDOT to be ready to assist anyone fighting to get out of the Suspension Snowball.
