Senate Passes New Penalty for Unlicensed Drivers

The New Hampshire Senate voted unanimously May 15 to pass a bill to make it a misdemeanor to drive without a valid license. The change will plug a loophole in law that allowed an unlicensed driver back behind the wheel and later crash into four cyclists in Hampton in 2013, according to Tom Rogers.

Rogers' wife Pam Wells was one of two cyclists who died as a result of that crash. He cheered the Senate passage, especially given an earlier committee recommendation against the bill.

At issue, apparently, was not the projected $28,000 expense cited in a fiscal note to the legislation; rather, the question was how best to classify the offense.

Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, the Senate sponsor of the bill, proposed an amendment to clarify the bill and to define the offense as a Class B misdemeanor.

Senators passed it on a voice vote.

Read the amended bill.