Launching the Reinstatement Fee Amnesty Pilot Program

Ohio House Bill 336, sponsored by Representatives John Barnes, Jr. and David Greenspan in the 132nd Ohio General Assembly, established the Reinstatement Fee Amnesty Initiative. In 2018 OPLC led a successful push for the creation of this six-month pilot program, allowing the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reduce or waive eligible driver’s license reinstatement fees for lower-income Ohioans. During the pilot program, legal aid programs coordinated with local courts and the BMV to hold clinics in which 76,000 Ohioans participated, receiving an average reduction in fees of $789. OPLC was then able to successfully lobby the Ohio legislature to make the program permanent through the passage of House Bill 285 during the 133rd General Assembly.