photo of EPOCA via.massvote

Is your Massachusetts license yours? Not if you’re convicted of any controlled substance crime.

This past January, 2013, Worcester Sen. Harriette L. Chandler and Boston Rep. Elizabeth Malia filed a joint bill in both the Massachusetts Senate and the House, “An act relative to motor vehicle license suspension.” It seems there’s finally an outcry against the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ (RMV) outdated law. However RMV is not the bad guy– the Legislature passed this law originally because Massachusetts would have lost federal funds without it.

Under current law, a person convicted of any drug offense – also called a “controlled substance” – automatically loses her or his driving privileges for six months up to five years. Not only that. To reinstate your license, the law says you must pay at least $500. Their driving record? Forget about it. The law includes non-driving license suspensions and warrants and could actually be purchased from the Massachusetts RMV for under $10 by prospective employers.

Last week, members of Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement (EPOCA) joined legislators and their aides, sheriffs, community activists and others who are fighting for changes in the law. They want to stop what some see as a “CORI reform loophole” that can never be sealed, harming a person’s chances of employment even decades after the fact. A CORI (Criminal Offender Records Information) has historically been problematic for those coming out of prison and was reformed in Massachusetts in 2010. For example, employers and landlords are no longer allowed to ask, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” on their initial job applications.

EPOCA and others testified at the State House where the Joint Committee on Transportation held a hearing on this bill. EPOCA members handed out a Fact Sheet which showed they had support from the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Prisoners Legal Services, Community Resources for Justice and the Worcester Initiative for Supported Re-Entry. In an interview, Steve O’Neill, who for the past eight years has been Executive Director for Interstate Organizing at EPOCA, said that jobs have been lost and families affected because of this law.

Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis, a Worcester Republican was the first to testify and he said the bill was just plain common sense, a way to help people get back on their feet. Barb Dougan, Massachusetts Project Director for Families against Mandatory Minimums who also attended the hearing and submitted written testimony, said in an interview, “Just because you have had a drug offense, you shouldn’t lose your license. It’s counterproductive. It’s really hard for people to leave prison and get reintegrated if they can’t drive.”

Already nine state senators and forty-one reps have voiced approval says the EPOCA Fact Sheet. Let’s hope this bill makes it into law.