Relating to court-ordered reimbursement of jail costs and restitution

Current law provides the court must make a determination of an offender’s reasonable ability to pay in a criminal case prior to entering a restitution order against the offender for crime victim assistance reimbursement, restitution to public agencies, court costs including correctional fees, court-appointed attorney fees, contributions to a local anticrime organization, and restitution to the medical assistance program.9. Under current law, when a court makes a determination an offender is not reasonably able to pay, the court may require the offender to perform public service in lieu of payment for crime victim compensation program costs, public agency restitution, court costs, court-appointed attorney fees, contributions to a local anticrime organization, or medical assistance program restitution.9. Under current law, if the full amount of restitution cannot be determined at the time of sentencing, the court is required to issue a temporary order determining a reasonable amount for restitution identified at that time, and shall issue a permanent, supplemental order determining the full amount of restitution at a later date. The bill strikes this provision.9, including the expense of a public defender, at the time of sentencing or a later date to be determined by the court. Under current law, the offender or the office or individual who prepared the offender’s restitution plan may petition the court for a hearing on any matter related to the plan of restitution at any time during the offender’s period of probation, parole, or incarceration. The bill requires a petition for a hearing relating to the amount of restitution to be filed by the offender or the office or individual who prepared the offender’s restitution plan within days of the date of the restitution order. A petition relating to the offender’s reasonable ability to pay court-appointed attorney fees, including the expense of a public defender, shall be filed within days of the date of the sentencing order or within days of the date of any supplemental restitution order. Under the bill, if an offender does not file a petition within the time periods specified in the bill, the failure to file shall be deemed a waiver of any objection to the offender’s plan of restitution and an acknowledgment that the offender has the reasonable ability to pay court-appointed attorney fees as previously determined by the court.