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S 2403Criminal Procedure

Motor and Other Vehicles - Suspension or Revocation of Licenses

This bill adds strict penalties, including mandatory jail time, for people caught driving after losing their license for reckless driving.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends Rhode Island motor vehicle laws to stiffen penalties for individuals caught driving while their license is suspended or revoked specifically due to "reckless driving." Previously, enhanced penalties such as mandatory jail time and strict fines applied primarily to suspensions resulting from DUI, refusal to submit to chemical tests, or vehicular manslaughter. This bill adds reckless driving to that list of serious underlying offenses. Consequently, a person whose license was suspended for reckless driving, who is then caught driving, will face mandatory fines and potential imprisonment similar to DUI-related suspensions.

For younger readers

There are strict rules for driving cars to keep everyone safe. If a driver breaks a big rule, like driving very dangerously (called reckless driving), the police take away their license, which means they are not allowed to drive anymore. This new law says that if a person lost their license because they were driving dangerously, and they try to drive anyway, they will get in very big trouble. They will have to pay more money and might have to go to jail. It treats dangerous driving as seriously as driving after drinking alcohol.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Drivers with suspended licensesReckless driversLaw enforcement officersJudges and court personnelDepartment of Corrections
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Enhances public safety by creating a stronger deterrent against individuals with a history of dangerous behavior operating vehicles on public roads.
  • Aligns the penalties for reckless driving with those for driving under the influence, recognizing that both behaviors pose significant threats to community welfare and human life.
  • May reduce the risk of vehicular accidents and injuries in neighborhoods by ensuring that drivers who have demonstrated a disregard for safety are effectively kept off the road.
  • Imposes mandatory minimum jail sentences (10 days to 1 year), which removes judicial discretion and contributes to mass incarceration, a system that disproportionately harms marginalized communities.
  • Mandates non-suspendable fines that may place a severe financial burden on low-income individuals, potentially trapping them in cycles of debt and legal entanglement.
  • Relying on punitive measures like incarceration fails to address the root causes of why individuals drive on suspended licenses, such as the economic necessity of commuting to work in areas with poor public transit.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens the rule of law by ensuring that individuals who have proven to be reckless drivers face serious, non-negotiable consequences for ignoring court-ordered license suspensions.
  • Promotes personal responsibility by holding drivers strictly accountable for their actions and enforcing severe penalties for flagrantly disregarding the law.
  • Enhances public order and safety by providing law enforcement and the courts with stronger tools to punish and incapacitate dangerous drivers who refuse to obey the law.
  • Limits the discretion of judges to determine appropriate sentencing based on the specific facts of a case by imposing one-size-fits-all mandatory minimum jail terms.
  • Empowers the government to seize private property by allowing for the impoundment of license plates, which could be viewed as an infringement on property rights.
  • Expands the definition of offenses that trigger felony status and incarceration, potentially increasing the size of the government and the burden on the taxpayer-funded correctional system.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 15 additions · 2 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 31-11-18.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-11 entitled "Suspension or Revocation of Licenses — Violations" is hereby amended to read as follows: 31-11-18.1. Driving after denial, revocation, or suspension for certain violations.

(a) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway of this state who never applied for a license or who drives after his or her application for a license has been refused, or after his or her license has expired or who otherwise drives without a license or at a time when his or her license to operate is suspended, revoked, or cancelled, for: (1) operating under the influence of a narcotic drug or intoxicating liquor; (2) refusing to submit to a chemical test; (3) reckless driving; (3)(4) manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle or operating so as to endanger resulting in death; or (4)(5) three (3) moving violations within a one-year period; shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for the first and second offenses and shall be deemed guilty of a felony for the third or subsequent offenses.

(b) The division of motor vehicles upon receiving a record of the conviction of any person upon a charge of driving a motor vehicle while the license of the person was suspended, for reasons set forth in this section shall suspend the person’s license or deny the person’s application for any length of time that it shall deem proper but in no case less than an additional three (3) months. Upon receiving a record of conviction of a second violation of driving a motor vehicle while the license of that person was suspended for reasons set forth in this section, the division of motor vehicles shall suspend the person’s license or deny the person’s application for any length of time that it shall deem proper but in no case less than an additional six (6) months. Any subsequent conviction shall result in license revocation. Upon receiving a record of the conviction of any person upon a charge of driving after his or her application for a license had been refused, or after his or her license had been revoked or cancelled for reasons set forth in this section, the division of motor vehicles shall not issue a new license for an additional period of one year from and after the date the person would otherwise have been entitled to apply for a new license. (c)(1) Upon a first conviction under this section a mandatory fine of five hundred dollars ($500) shall be imposed, and if the person was driving after his or her application for a license had been refused, or at a time when his or her license to operate was suspended, revoked, or cancelled for operating under the influence of a controlled substance or intoxicating liquor, or his or her refusal to submit to a chemical test, reckless driving, manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle, or operation so as to endanger, death resulting, the person shall be imprisoned for a minimum of ten (10) days.

(2) A mandatory fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for a second conviction under this section within a five (5) year period shall be imposed, and if the person was driving after his or her application for a license had been refused, or at a time when his or her license to operate was suspended, revoked, or cancelled for operating under the influence of a controlled substance or intoxicating liquor or his or her refusal to submit to a chemical test, reckless driving, manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle, or operation so as to endanger, death resulting, the person shall be imprisoned for a minimum of six (6) months to one year.

(3) For any subsequent conviction within a five (5) year period, a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be imposed and the person may be imprisoned for up to one year or be required to participate in a public service program designated and approved by the court. If the person was driving after his or her application for a license had been refused or at a time when his or her license to operate was suspended, revoked, or cancelled for: (i) operating under the influence of a controlled substance or intoxicating liquor; (ii) his or her refusal to submit to a chemical test;

(iii) reckless driving; (iv) manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle; or (v) operating so as to endanger, death resulting; the person shall be imprisoned for a minimum of one year. Jurisdiction for violations of this section is given to the district court and the court shall have full authority to impose any sentence authorized for violations of this section.

(d) No fines, suspensions, treatment, or jail provided for under this section can be suspended.

(e) When any law enforcement officer arrests a person for driving a motor vehicle while the license of the person was suspended, revoked or cancelled for any of the reasons set forth in subsections (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section, and the vehicle so driven is owned in whole or in part by the person so arrested, the license plates of that vehicle shall be impounded by the arresting officer for a period of not less than ninety (90) days; provided, however, that if the charges hereunder are dropped or dismissed for any reason, the license plates shall thereupon be returned to the owner, and in no event shall such impoundment continue beyond the duration of any sentence imposed under this section; and provided further, that if a court determines that such impoundment would cause undue hardship to dependents of the offender, the court may order the division of motor vehicles to issue temporary substitute license plates to the vehicle under such terms and for such time as the court deems necessary to achieve substantial justice.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.