Bill would waive fee for injured to replace license

Injured soldiers deserve some respect, the state legislator says.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Soldiers who lose their Ohio driver's license when they are injured on active duty must pay a $20 fee to the state for a duplicate card.
State Rep. John Boccieri, an Air Force Reserve major, plans to introduce legislation shortly to waive that fee.
"It may not be much money, but injured soldiers deserve some respect," said Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st. Boccieri, a pilot, served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and one tour in Germany during the past two years.
Boccieri said Thursday that the bill will probably be referred to the House Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee for hearings.
What happened
Boccieri was contacted a few weeks ago by Ray Steffen of Salem about this issue. Steffen's son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Steffen, was injured in Iraq in a noncombat incident and while being evacuated back to the United States for medical treatment, he lost his driver's license. The Marine had to pay $20 to get a duplicate license.
State law currently requires that a soldier provide paperwork from the U.S. Veterans' Administration showing they are 100 percent disabled to get a waiver on the $20 fee, Boccieri said.
"To me, being 100 percent disabled means you're dead," he said. "The law on principle needs changed. If a soldier is injured during a time of war they should not have to pay for a new form of identification."
Boccieri's bill would require members of the military to obtain a letter from a military doctor indicating they received a service-related injury to have the $20 fee waived.
"These injured soldiers who've given so much for us should not have to pay a dime for a new license," he said.
The national AMVETS organization wrote a $20 check Thursday to the Steffen family for the state fee.
skolnick@vindy.com