Another effort is underway at the Kansas Statehouse to get thousands of Kansans back on the road after losing their license for what started out as unpaid fines and fees on a simple traffic ticket.

This is a problem KAKE News Investigates first told you about four years ago now, where Kansas was one of the worst states in the country for the number of suspended driver's licenses. About half of the suspensions at the time were here in Sedgwick County.

Since then, the state has made it easier for those with a suspension for unpaid fines and fees to get their license back.

But those efforts haven't applied to Kansans who were caught still driving despite the suspension - something Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D Wichita, says they often aren't even aware of yet, or feel they have no choice but to do in order to pay the bills.

This latest proposal, SB 2, would allow Kansans with revoked licenses that started out as unpaid fines and fees to get a restricted license while taking care of those fines and fees with a payment plan.

"They just need a little help," Faust-Goudeau told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And, madam chair, I want to make it clear that I am not speaking of those....with a DUI or those habitual violators. I just want to give a little help to those individuals that simply could not pay."

Since our investigation first aired in 2019, Sedgwick County commissioners have been pushing for changes like these.

The Kansas Peace Officers and Sheriffs Associations both testified in support of this bill, presuming lawmakers don't make a bunch of changes to it.

The committee ran out of time to hear from witnesses on this bill and will resume the hearing at a later date.