Skip to main content
S 2482Criminal Procedure

Motor and Other Vehicles - Suspension or Revocation of Licenses - Violations

This bill mandates jail time for driving with a suspended license if the suspension resulted from reckless driving or frequent offenses.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends existing traffic laws regarding penalties for driving with a suspended, revoked, or denied license. It expands the specific list of underlying reasons for a license suspension that trigger mandatory imprisonment if an individual is caught driving. New triggers for these harsher penalties include suspensions caused by reckless driving, accumulating three moving violations in one year, being designated a "frequent offender," or violating a conditional hardship license. The bill mandates jail time ranging from 10 days to one year depending on the number of prior offenses and prohibits the suspension of these sentences.

For younger readers

This law changes the rules for people who are not allowed to drive. Sometimes, grown-ups lose their driver's license because they broke safety rules, like driving dangerously or getting too many tickets. This bill says that if those people drive anyway, they will get in bigger trouble. Specifically, they will have to go to jail for at least ten days if they are caught driving. The goal is to make sure people who are supposed to stay off the road actually listen to the rules.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Drivers with suspended licensesFrequent traffic offendersReckless driversLaw enforcementJudiciary and Courts
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 targeting individuals who have demonstrated a pattern of dangerous behavior, such as reckless driving, potentially reducing traffic accidents and injuries in the community.
  • Updates legal terminology from "narcotic drug" to "controlled substance," reflecting a more modern and accurate understanding of substance use in the legal code.
  • Holds "frequent offenders" accountable, ensuring that those who repeatedly endanger the welfare of the community through traffic violations face serious consequences.
  • Imposes mandatory minimum jail sentences, stripping judges of the discretion to consider individual circumstances and contributing to the problem of mass incarceration for non-violent offenses.
  • Disproportionately harms low-income individuals who may be driving while suspended due to economic necessity (e.g., getting to work), creating a cycle of debt and imprisonment that destabilizes families.
  • Removes the ability to suspend sentences or fines, preventing the justice system from showing leniency or offering alternative rehabilitation paths for those struggling with hardship.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens the rule of law by ensuring that individuals who ignore license suspensions and court orders face strict, non-negotiable consequences.
  • Limits judicial activism and leniency by instituting mandatory minimum sentences, ensuring that judges cannot let repeat offenders off with a warning.
  • Promotes public order by physically removing individuals who repeatedly violate traffic laws and disregard authority from society for a set period.
  • Increases the burden on taxpayers by mandating incarceration costs for traffic-related offenses, effectively expanding the size and cost of the state's penal system.
  • Represents an expansion of government power by creating new categories of crimes that result in automatic deprivation of liberty without room for judicial review of specific context.
  • Could be viewed as excessive government overreach into personal conduct, criminalizing administrative violations (driving status) with penalties typically reserved for more malicious crimes.

Votes

Loading votes...

Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 30 additions · 19 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 controlled substance or intoxicating liquor; (2) refusing refusal to submit to a chemical test;

(3) reckless driving; (3) manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle or (4) operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger resulting in death; or (4) (5) three (3) moving violations within a one-year period; (6) having been designated a frequent offender pursuant to § 31-27-24; or (7) violation of the terms of a conditional hardship order issued pursuant to chapter 27 of title 31; 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 ; (ii) refusal to submit to a chemical test, ; (iii) reckless driving, manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle, or operation ;(iv) operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger, death resulting, in death; (v) three (3) moving violations within a one-year period; (vi) having been designated a frequent offender pursuant to § 31-27-24; or (vii) violation of the terms of a conditional hardship order issued pursuant to chapter 27 of title 31 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 :(i) operating under the influence of a controlled substance or intoxicating liquor or his or her ; (ii) refusal to submit to a chemical test, ; (iii) reckless driving, manslaughter from the operation of a motor vehicle, or operation ; (iv) operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger, death resulting in death; (v) three (3) moving violations within a one-year period;

(vi) having been designated a frequent offender pursuant to § 31-27-24; or (vii) violation of the terms of a conditional hardship order issued pursuant to chapter 27 of title 31 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 a motor vehicle so as to endanger, death resulting in death; (v) three (3) moving violations within a one-year period; (vi) having been designated a frequent offender pursuant to § 31-27-24; or (vii) violation of the terms of a conditional hardship order issued pursuant to chapter 27 of title 31 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.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.