DARDEN, J.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court improperly found that GVVK’s driving privileges had not been forfeited for life because GVVK’s sentence for operating of a motor vehicle while an habitual traffic violator had been modified from a class D felony to a class A misdemeanor.
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In this case, the State appeals the trial court’s finding that Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16 provides for only the suspension of driving privileges, rather than the forfeiture of driving privileges for life, when a conviction is modified from a class D felony to a class A misdemeanor. The State also asserts that subsection (e) of Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 specifically prohibits the modification of a defendant’s driving privileges from forfeiture for life to suspension when a judgment on conviction as a class D felony is converted to a class A misdemeanor.
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Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16(a)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that a person who operates a motor vehicle “while the person’s driving privileges are validly suspended . . . and the person knows that the person’s driving privileges are suspended” commits a class D felony. Subsection (c) provides as follows:
In addition to any criminal penalty, a person who is convicted of a felony under subsection (a) forfeits the privilege of operating a motor vehicle for life. However, if judgment for conviction of a Class A misdemeanor is entered for an offense under subsection (a), the court may order a period of suspension of the convicted person’s driving privileges that is in addition to any suspension of driving privileges already imposed upon the person.
(Emphasis added).
A suspension terminates driving privileges for only a definite period of years while a forfeiture terminates driving privileges for life. See Leslie v. State, 755 N.E.2d 1147, 1150 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). Thus, in terms of consequences, there is a significant difference between a class D felony conviction and a class A misdemeanor conviction for an offense under Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16.
Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5(a) provides that a trial court “may enter judgment of conviction as a Class D felony with the express provision that the conviction will be converted to a conviction as a Class A misdemeanor within three (3) years if the person fulfills certain conditions.” Under subsection (e), however, “[t]he entry of a judgment of conviction . . . does not affect the application of any statute requiring the suspension of a person’s driving privileges.”
Both Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16 and Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 address the suspension of driving privileges. The former, however, also addresses the forfeiture of driving privileges. The latter is silent regarding lifetime forfeitures. Given the difference between suspensions and forfeitures, we cannot agree with the State that a modification under Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 prohibits modifying a defendant’s driving privileges from forfeiture to suspension, particularly as the statute is silent regarding forfeitures.
. . . .
Given the clear and unambiguous language of the statutes in question, we cannot say that the trial court erred in finding that GVVK’s driving privileges were no longer forfeited for life once the trial court entered a class A misdemeanor conviction in Cause No. 2990. Rather, we find that entering a judgment of conviction for a class A misdemeanor pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 for an offense under Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16 removes the lifetime forfeiture of a defendant’s driving privileges.
We note, however, that neither Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16 nor Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 prevents a trial court from ordering an additional period of suspension of the defendant’s driving privileges upon the conversion of a class D felony conviction to a class A misdemeanor conviction. We therefore remind trial courts and parties to plea agreements that any order or plea agreement regarding future alternative sentencing should specify an additional period, if any, of suspension of the convicted person’s driving privileges upon the entry of a judgment for conviction of a class A misdemeanor for an offense under Indiana Code section 9-30-10-16(a).
FRIEDLANDER, J., and VAIDIK, J., concur.