Reducing Barriers to Driver Licenses
Wisconsin families, workers, and potential workers should be able to support themselves and fully participate in their communities. That's the goal of our new budget agenda, Reimagine Wisconsin, which calls for transformative change with the goal of constructing a new, more equitable economy.
The new economy must value every resident of Wisconsin and dismantle the systemic oppression that has harmed people of color for generations. To help that happen, lawmakers should tear down barriers that make it difficult or impossible for some immigrants and people struggling to make ends meet to get driver licenses.
Having a driver license can be the determining factor in whether a person can get and keep a job. Having a license also helps people get to the doctor’s office, to their children’s parent-teacher conferences, to the grocery store, and to church.
State policymakers should take three steps to remove obstacles to licenses:
- Stop the practice of suspending licenses for reasons unrelated to dangerous driving;
- Allocate state resources to provide free driver education in Wisconsin high schools; and
- Allow all immigrants to get driver licenses without regard to immigration status.
Visit Reimagine Wisconsin for other key strategies for transforming our economy and moving Wisconsin forward on a path to an equitable economy. By putting people first, investing in Wisconsin's communities, and building an equitable tax system, we can reimagine a new future for our state.
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