Courtesy D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced today that her administration plans to change a law that takes driver’s licenses away from some people convicted of non driving-related offenses.

Congress introduced a law requiring states to automatically revoke or suspend licenses of convicted drug offenders in an effort to deter crime in 1991, during the height of the war on drugs. Lawmakers threatened to reduce highway funding for states if they didn’t enforce the law. And since 1992, D.C. has obliged.

A recent Prison Policy Initiative report points out that this is one of many laws that steers people back into the criminal justice system. Since many jobs require licenses, it’s difficult for people to find employment once they’re out of prison.

In addition, these type of suspension laws “disproportionately impact poor communities, communities of color, and communities that have few alternative means of transportation,” according to the report, which lists D.C. along with twelve states that still enforce the law, including Virginia.

But the District will now attempt to join a reform movement in which states are using a provision in the law that allows them to “opt-out” without penalty or loss of funding.

“In Washington, D.C., we value and support rehabilitation and promote employment as a critical component of successful reentry,” Mayor Bowser said in a statement. “This change will ensure that the DC criminal code is tailored to public safety, not maintaining antiquated and ineffective policies that place unnecessary burdens on District residents.”

To opt out of the federal requirement, the D.C. Council has to repeal the law and pass a resolution formally stating its opposition to the policy. Then, Mayor Bowser will affirm that she and the Council are opposed to “punitive measures stripping returning citizens of driver’s licenses.”