This last January, Kim Ferguson, a long-time resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, was pulled over for speeding. An officer clocked at 31 mph in a 15 mph school zone. It had been the first ticket she had ever been issued. Being over double the speed limit, she was facing a $200 ticket.

“I said, ‘Oh my gosh. I’ve never had a ticket before. I don’t know what to do,’” Ferguson told KLAS.

The officer took pity on Ferguson and wrote her a ticket for going 20 mph—only a 5 mph difference. She argued she was following the flow of traffic, too, so he altered the ticket. Therefore, he said, she wouldn’t have to pay the $200.

When she logged on to pay her ticket, she was surprised by the amount she was expected to pay, whether she wanted to fight the ticket or not. In Nevada, if you want to contest any ticket, the fine must be paid first. Then, if you win, it will be refunded.

“We looked at the thing and I told my husband, ‘Oh my god, it’s $417,’” she recalled. Ferguson’s husband, Tom, said it may not be a lot for most Vegas residents—but it was a lot for them. Especially since they had to pay a fee just because they paid online.

“When you’re retired, that’s a lot of money,” he said. “Now maybe to some people it’s not, but to us it is.”

The couple couldn’t afford a lawyer, so they paid the ticket

Neither Tom or Kim felt like hiring a lawyer was worth the extra cost. So, they opted to pay the ticket instead. However, the interaction and the fine left a sour taste in their mouths.

“The punishment doesn’t match the crime,” Tom said. “If you were doing 50 miles per hour in a school zone, I would understand that, but 20? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Some Vegas lawmakers are hopeful of turning that around. State Senator Melanie Scheible says the law must be changed to allow people to contest without paying the fine.

“I think the bigger issue, especially among my colleagues here at the Legislature, is just the unfairness in having to pay the fine first and then be seen by a judge,” she said over a video chat. “For many Nevadans, especially those with limited financial means, this upfront payment creates a financial barrier to their right to a hearing.”

Her proposal passed, now it needs to be passed in the chamber

Scheible’s proposal to increase flexibility for Nevadans in contesting their speeding tickets passed unanimously through the state Senate. Now, it’s expected to pass the chamber.