(Boise, ID) The fee to obtain a four-year driver’s license for seniors age 63 and older would go down by $5 if a new bill introduced Tuesday afternoon in the Idaho Legislature is passed into law.
The Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to introduce the new bill, which would decrease the fee for seniors to obtain a drivers license from $35 to $30.
Sen. Brandon Shippy, R-New Plymouth, said he sponsored the bill after a constituent told him that seniors pay a higher rate for driver’s licenses than the general adult population. Shippy told the committee that seniors 63 and older are required to renew their driver’s license every four years, while adults from ages 21 to 62 have the option to renew every eight years.
The issue is that the cost of an eight-year driver is $60, but it would cost seniors $70 over eight years to renew a four-year driver’s license twice for $35.
“They feel like they are disproportionately forced to pay a higher price, and so they’ve asked me to run this on their behalf,” Shippy said. “That’s really who I’m fighting for and even bringing this (for).”
Introducing the bill clears the way to return to the Senate Transportation Committee for a full public hearing.
Shippy’s new bill will be assigned a bill number and posted publicly on the Idaho Legislature’s website after it is read across the desk on the floor of the Idaho Senate, likely on Wednesday.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.