Bills › 88th General Assembly
SSB 3130
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 6, 2020
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 6, 2020
- Stopped: Senate committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Currently, courts must check if a person can afford to pay certain costs like jail fees and restitution before ordering them to pay. This bill removes that requirement for most costs, meaning the court would no longer decide if a person has the ability to pay those specific amounts. Judges would only continue to check if a person can afford their court-appointed attorney fees.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to court-ordered reimbursement of jail costs and restitution. Under current law, a sheriff or municipality may choose to enforce a claim of reimbursement for charges for administrative costs and room and board costs at a jail or municipal holding facility as a civil claim. Once the claim is approved by the court, it shall have the force and effect of a judgment for purposes of enforcement by the sheriff or municipality. _____ the bill, if the claim of reimbursement was not requested to be included within the order for payment of restitution, the court-approved claim shall be a civil judgment against the prisoner in favor of the sheriff or county, or the municipality, and is not subject to a court’s determination of the prisoner’s reasonable ability to pay. 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.
Senate subcommittee
Named February 6, 2020. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
Fiscal note
AI summary This bill changes how courts handle restitution and jail fees by removing the requirement to consider an offender's ability to pay for certain costs. The bill may increase restitution collections for the state and jail fee collections for counties and municipalities, but the exact amount cannot be determined. There may also be savings for Judicial Branch resources due to reduced time spent on ability-to-pay determinations.3
Read the fiscal note
Description
House File 2583 relates to court-ordered reimbursement of jail costs and restitution. The Bill provides that if a claim of reimbursement for jail fees under Iowa Code section 356.7 was not requested by the county or municipality to be included within the order for payment of restitution, the court-approved claim must be a civil judgment against the prisoner in favor of the sheriff or county, or the municipality, and is not subject to a court’s determination of the prisoner’s reasonable ability to pay.
The Bill eliminates the requirement that the court consider the offender’s reasonable ability to pay in a criminal case prior to entering a restitution order against the offender. It also eliminates the ability of the court to require the offender to perform public service in lieu of restitution. Under the Bill, the offender’s reasonable ability to pay would only be considered for court-appointed attorney fees under Iowa Code section 815.9.
The Bill requires the court to make a finding as to the offender’s reasonable ability to pay court-appointed attorney fees at the time of sentencing or a later date to be determined by the court. It 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 30 days of the date of the restitution order. 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 acknowledgement that the offender has the reasonable ability to pay court-appointed attorney fees as previously determined by the court.
House File 2583 also makes changes to the judicial process for determining the amount of restitution.
Background
Jail Fee
Under current law in Iowa Code section 356.7, a county or municipality may choose to enforce a claim of reimbursement for charges for administrative costs and room and board costs at a jail or municipal holding facility as a civil claim.
Restitution
Currently under Iowa Code section 910.2(1) there are two categories of restitution. The items in the first category are restitution to the victims of the offender’s criminal activities and to the clerk of court for fines, penalties, and surcharges. The court is required to order restitution for the items in this first category regardless of the offender’s reasonable ability to pay.1 The second category includes:
- Crime victim assistance reimbursement
- Restitution to public agencies pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.2(13)(b) 1 State v. Albright, 925 N.W.2d 144 (Iowa 2019).
- Court costs including correctional fees approved pursuant to Iowa Code section 356.7
- Court-appointed attorney fees ordered pursuant to Iowa Code section 815.9
- Contribution to a local anticrime organization
- Restitution to the medical assistance program pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 249A The court can only order restitution for items in this second category to the extent the offender has the reasonable ability to pay. If the court finds an offender is not reasonably able to pay all or part of the items in the second category, the court may order community service in lieu of restitution under the terms and conditions set forth in the Iowa Code.2
Assumptions
- Assessments and collections of all restitution will continue to consistently increase in future fiscal years.
- Jail fee assessments and collections will remain consistent in future fiscal years.
Fiscal Impact
House File 2583 may increase the assessments and collections by the State of the restitution no longer subject to the ability-to-pay determination. The extent of this increase cannot be determined. In FY 2019, there was a total of $138.0 million in court costs owed to the State as court debt. The following table provides the total court costs owed as court debt to the State since FY 2015.
Court Debt — Court Costs Owed to State (FY 2015 to FY 2019)
Fiscal Year Total Outstanding Court Costs
2015 $113,053,098 2016 $113,344,760 2017 $121,310,805 2018 $129,878,440 2019 $138,027,744 House File 2583 may also have a fiscal impact on counties and municipalities assessing jail fees under Iowa Code section 356.7, but the extent of the impact cannot be determined. Under the Bill, the county or municipality must request to collect the jail fee as part of restitution in the criminal proceeding; otherwise, the county or municipality can only collect the fee as a civil judgment. In both cases, the jail fee would no longer be subject to the reasonable ability-to-pay determination under current law and could possibly allow for an increase in assessments and collections of the jail fee for counties and municipalities. In FY 2019, there was a total of $21.9 million assessed and $4.1 million collected in jail fees from all 99 counties. The average total amount collected from all 99 counties over the last three fiscal years was $3.9 million. In addition, HF 2583 may reduce time spent by judges on ability-to-pay determinations and would likely reduce the instances in which a subsequent hearing is necessary. As a result, there may be some savings to Judicial Branch resources.
2 Id.
Sources
- Judicial Branch
- LSA analysis
- Restitution, Court-Appointed Attorney Fees · March 4, 2020
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88th General Assembly