Letter Sent to PA Governor Wolf and PennDoT to Urge Retroactive Enforcement of Act 95

40+ Organizations Collaborate to Urge Governor Wolf to Enforce Act 95 Retroactively

Despite the passage of Act 95 by Pennsylvania’s General Assembly, which ended the policy of non-driving related license suspensions, tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians remain under license suspension. Act 95 lacks retroactive enforcement, leaving many individuals with past suspensions that will run until as late as 2026. More than 40 local and national organizations have joined forces to urge Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) to retroactively enforce Act 95.

The passage of Act 95 was a critical step toward breaking down barriers for individuals involved in the criminal justice system. Having one’s driver’s license suspended makes it difficult to maintain or secure employment, provide for one’s family and contribute to society in a positive way. Pennsylvania’s General Assembly found license suspension for non-driving infractions to be unnecessarily harsh and affirmatively detrimental to rehabilitation. However, Act 95 only affects future suspensions and fails to address past suspensions, which means that tens of thousands of individuals are still under license suspension and will be for years to come.

To address this issue, more than 40 organizations joined forces to send a letter to Governor Wolf and PennDot to urge them to address this oversight. The letter was sent today and is signed by the heads of national-level organizations such as Equal Justice Under Law and Center for Employment Opportunities, as well as local Pennsylvania-based agencies such as Returning Citizens for a Better Philadelphia and The Office of the Public Defender in Pittsburgh.

In the letter, the organizations urge Governor Wolf and PennDot to “break down unnecessary and difficult roadblocks for the thousands of Pennsylvanians still struggling with non-driving license suspension.”

Phil Telfeyan, the first signer of the letter and the Executive Director of Equal Justice Under Law, a national law nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., states, “Retroactive enforcement will ensure that Act 95 will accomplish the commonsense reform goals that were intended by the General Assembly. Removing these unfair and unjust license suspensions will mean that tens of thousands of individuals will be better able to support their families and join the workforce.”

Read the full letter that was submitted here.