Bill would let Ohioans with drug convictions keep license

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio Senate panel is reviewing a bill to give judges the option of suspending a driver’s license for someone convicted of a drug charge instead of the suspension being mandatory.

State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, says current law makes it difficult for hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio with suspended driver’s licenses for drug convictions to find a job.

The bill, which had its first hearing today, affects only drug convictions that don’t involve driving.

The state told the federal government in December that Ohio wants out of a suspension requirement for non-driving drug convictions developed by the feds in the 1990s.

The legislation also would allow a judge to end a previously imposed license suspension for a drug conviction that did not involve a vehicle.