The Michigan Senate has voted to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in extra "responsibility" fees that have been assessed to 317,000 motorists for certain traffic offenses.
The legislation approved unanimously Thursday would also speed up the elimination of newly assessed fees.
Supporters say the state fees are excessive and prevent people from legally driving. The fees are levied in addition to fines motorists pay for infractions. They range from $100 to $2,000 for driving without insurance, accumulating too many points and other offenses.
The Senate made a key change to the legislation before voting. Instead of forgiving all fees a year from now, only those outstanding for more than six years would waived. Overt time, the remaining fees would be forgiven.
The House will soon pass its own bills.
