Courts would assess ability to pay before imposing certain charges

Courts would assess a person's ability to pay before imposing certain fines, costs, or assessments. The assessment covers people facing fines, costs, or other assessments under the listed state criminal and traffic laws, and people seeking waivers of civil filing fees and court costs. A person qualifies if they meet any one of the listed tests: appointed indigent defense counsel or public assistance, income at or below the county's very low income threshold, or financial hardship found through individual review. For the first two tests, courts may accept self-attestation or request documents. For hardship review, self-attestation is presumed sufficient; if a court requires documents, it must explain why on the record. Current incarceration creates a presumption of indigency. The standards also apply to civil filing fees and court costs, except as otherwise provided by law. The assessment must happen before the court imposes a covered fine, cost, or assessment.

Courts would not impose costs, fees, or reimbursements on a person found indigent at sentencing. This applies to defendants at sentencing whose courts find them indigent. Restitution must still be imposed when required and appropriate, regardless of indigency. Courts may consider indigency when deciding whether to impose certain victim payment fines, and may consider alternative accountability measures. The court must state its indigency finding and its decisions about assessments on the record. The court makes these decisions at sentencing.

A person could ask the trial court to review indigency again after a change in financial circumstances. This applies to a person whose financial circumstances change after sentencing. If the court finds the person indigent, it must waive previously imposed court costs and fees; it may waive previously imposed fines. Late fees on a waived assessment must also be waived. Payments already made are not refunded. The person may request review after sentencing if their financial circumstances change.

Before ordering certain charges in a municipal or state civil infraction case, the court would assess whether the defendant is indigent. This applies to defendants found responsible for municipal or state civil infractions. A court must not order costs, assessments, damages, or expenses against a defendant it finds indigent under the municipal or state civil infraction provisions. A court may set a payment period or installments; otherwise, covered amounts are due immediately. Courts that post payment schedules must note the indigency exception and explain how to request a determination. The civil infraction checks would begin after the effective date of the act that adds section 1495.