Driver's licenses: offenses and penalties.

Existing law authorizes a court to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles when a person has violated a written promise to appear on specified traffic allegations. Depending on the class of offense that prompts the notification from a court, existing law requires the department, upon receipt of the notification, to suspend the person's driver's license if specified conditions are met, such as a prior notification for a violation of a written promise to appear or when the license is already suspended. If a court has notified the department of a violation of a promise to appear, and the person subsequently appears and resolves the allegation, existing law requires the court to notify the department. Under existing law, a suspension continues until a person's driving record shows no violation of a written promise to appear. This bill would limit the department's authority to suspend a driver's license under the above provisions for a failure to appear to only those alleged violations that are a misdemeanor, other than an alleged violation for a failure to appear, or any felony. Existing law prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle upon a highway, unless the person then holds a valid driver's license, or is expressly exempted from that prohibition. Under existing law, a violation of this prohibition constitutes a misdemeanor. This bill would make it an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, to drive without a license for a first and 2nd violation, if the person has no prior suspensions or revocations of their driver's license for specified offenses. The bill would make driving without a license either an infraction or a misdemeanor if a person has a prior suspension or revocation, as specified, or for a 3rd or subsequent violation.