Courts would assess ability to pay and waive some fees

Courts would assess whether a defendant is indigent before setting fines or other financial penalties. This applies after a guilty plea or a finding of guilt. If the defendant is found indigent, the court may impose an authorized fine but may not add costs or assessments under this section. For nonpayment of costs, jail is barred unless the court finds the person can pay and has not made a good-faith effort. The assessment occurs after a guilty plea or finding of guilt, at sentencing or when judgment is deferred.

Courts would waive supervision fees when they find a supervised person indigent. The fee provisions cover people placed on probation or supervised during a delayed sentence under the described court orders. The fee amounts in the text are $30 per month without electronic monitoring and $60 per month with it, subject to stated month limits. A person cannot owe more than one supervision fee for the same months; if fees overlap, the shorter remaining fee is waived. The fee is payable when the probation or delayed-sentence order is entered; a court may approve monthly installments.

Courts would assess indigency when deciding whether to impose a fine. This concerns people sentenced for misdemeanors other than serious misdemeanors, and decisions about fines and compliance. A court may depart from the presumption of a nonjail, nonprobation sentence for a misdemeanor that is not a serious misdemeanor if it gives reasons on the record. An added sentence for failure to pay requires findings that the person can pay without severe hardship and did not make a good-faith effort. The indigency assessment applies when the court decides whether to impose a fine.

A person released from jail for work or school after a felony conviction would wear an ankle monitor, with costs waived for indigent people. This applies to a person convicted of a felony whom the court releases from jail to attend work or school. The rule applies only where the court has a qualifying electronic-monitoring program in place. The monitor must track movement, signal tampering or removal, and be monitored by the county sheriff; indigent people do not pay its costs. The device is required throughout the person’s work or school release.