An unpaid traffic fine won't cause Californians to lose their license thanks to a new law starting next month.

Gov. Jerry Brown said punishing drivers by taking away their license doesn't help the state collect the unpaid fines and pushes low-income people into a cycle of job losses and even more poverty.

The policy is meant to help keep people's lives from being derailed by a traffic ticket according to the Van Nuys Democrat state Senator Bob Hertzberg. The provision was part of a series of bills Brown signed on Tuesday to enact the state's new budget. According to the new law, courts are prevented from suspending someone's driver's license because of unpaid fines.