Motorists hobbled by poor driving records and costly surcharges would get a break from paying interest and other fees under an amnesty program a Senate committee unanimously approved today. The amnesty legislation –which could net the state $17 million –is aimed at drivers busted for driving without insurance or a valid license, or hit with six or more surcharge points for moving violations, said Mike Horan, spokesman for the state Division of Motor Vehicles. The program excludes people snagged for drunken driving, Horan said. “Hundreds of millions of dollars are out there,” Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), the bill’s sponsor, told her colleagues on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in Trenton prior to the vote. “People will never repay that money,” Turner added, describing a cycle of people losing their licenses because of driving offenses, losing their jobs because they cannot drive and then being unable to work and pay off the surcharges. “They are caught up in the system and will never extricate themselves unless we give them an opportunity.” Read full Statehouse Bureau reort here.