50-State Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder Bringing transparency to areas of significant legal complexity.
Ability to Pay
Keyword search across all of the laws in the states. Subject-area tabs above allow you to narrow results. Click the advanced search for further refinement.
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See all ability to pay policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
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- Alabama (10)
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- Delaware (3)
- Florida (26)
- Georgia (9)
- Hawaii (8)
- Idaho (13)
- Illinois (17)
- Indiana (6)
- Iowa (8)
- Kansas (3)
- (-) Kentucky (9)
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- Massachusetts (23)
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- Minnesota (13)
- Mississippi (2)
- Missouri (10)
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- (-) Nevada (4)
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- Texas (11)
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- Washington (12)
- Washington DC (2)
- West Virginia (5)
- Wisconsin (6)
- Wyoming (5)
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Below are the ability to pay laws that meet your search criteria. Many include a See related provisions prompt which searches our database for laws that may pertain to your result.
13 Results
| State | Statute | Description/Statute Name | Statutory language | Level of offense | Definition of ability to pay | Timeline | Burden of proof | Method of determination | Mandatory | Remedies if unable to pay | |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 533.030(2)(l) | Conditions of probation and conditional discharge; restitution to victim |
(2) When imposing a sentence of probation or conditional discharge, the court may, in addition to any other reasonable condition, require that the defendant: (l) Submit to periodic testing for the use of controlled substances or alcohol, if the defendant's record indicates a controlled substance or alcohol problem, and to pay a reasonable fee, as determined by the court, which fee shall not exceed the actual cost of the test and analysis and shall be paid directly to the agency or agencies responsible for testing and analysis as compensation for the cost of the testing and analysis, as specified by written order of the court, performed under this subsection. For good cause shown, the testing fee may be waived by the court;
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All |
Not provided for |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Fee waived |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24A.178(3) | Additional fee for sex crime, stalking, or related inchoate offenses |
The court may waive all or any portion of the fee required by this section if the court finds that a person subject to the surcharge is indigent or financially unable to pay all or any portion of the surcharge. The court may waive only the portion of the surcharge that the court finds the person is financially unable to pay.
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All |
"Indigent or financially unable to pay" |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
Waiver of fee |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 441.265(2)(b) | Required reimbursement by prisoner of costs of confinement; local policy of fee and expense rates; billing and collection methods |
(b) Rates charged may be adjusted in accordance with the fee and expense reimbursement policy based upon the ability of the prisoner confined to the jail to pay, giving consideration to any legal obligation of the prisoner to support a spouse, minor children, or other dependents. The prisoner's interest in any jointly owned property and the income, assets, earnings, or other property owned by the prisoner's spouse or family shall not be used to determine a prisoner's ability to pay.
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All |
Not provided for |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Administrative decision | No |
Not specified |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.454(5) | Persons prohibited from probation or postincarceration supervision; procedure when probation or postincarceration supervision not prohibited |
(5) The offender shall pay for any evaluation or treatment required pursuant to this section up to the offender's ability to pay but not more than the actual cost of the comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluation or treatment.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Administrative decision | No |
N/A |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.354(1) | Copayment for medical treatment |
(1) A local government may require prisoners to make a reasonable copayment in advance of medical treatment received through a regional jail facility. No prisoner shall be denied medical treatment by reason of indigency, but a prisoner may be required to pay for medical treatment as part of any reimbursement order entered by the sentencing court.
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All |
Indigency |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
N/A |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 532.352 | Reimbursement for costs of incarceration |
(1) The sentencing court may order a person who is sentenced to a term of incarceration for any nonstatus juvenile offense, moving traffic violation, criminal violation, misdemeanor, or Class D felony offense to reimburse the state or local government for the costs of his incarceration. The reimbursements paid under this subsection shall be credited to the local government sinking fund.
(2) The sentencing court shall determine the amount of incarceration costs to be paid based on the following factors: (a) The actual per diem, per person, cost of incarceration; (b) The cost of medical services provided to a prisoner less any copayment paid by the prisoner; and (c) The prisoner's ability to pay all or part of his incarceration costs. |
All |
Not provided for |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
N/A |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.040 | Fines for misdemeanors and violations |
(4) Fines required by this section shall not be imposed upon any person determined by the court to be indigent pursuant to KRS Chapter 31. |
Misdemeanor |
Indigent |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No | Not provided for |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23A.205 | Court costs for criminal cases in Circuit Court; payment required; exceptions |
(1) Court costs for a criminal case in the Circuit Court shall be one hundred dollars ($100). case, shall be mandatory and shall not be subject to probation, suspension, proration, deduction, or other form of nonimposition in the terms of a plea bargain or otherwise, unless the court finds that the defendant is a poor person as defined by KRS 453.190(2) and that he or she is unable to pay court costs and will be unable to pay the court costs in the foreseeable future.
(3) If the court finds that the defendant does not meet the standard articulated in subsection (2) of this section and that the defendant is nonetheless unable to pay the full amount of the court costs, fees, or fines at the time of sentencing, then the court may establish an installment payment plan in accordance with KRS 534.020. |
All |
"A poor person" as defined by statute. |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
Fee probation, suspension, proration, deduction, or other form of nonimposition |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 23A.208(3) | Additional fee for sex crime, stalking, or related inchoate offenses |
(3) The court may waive all or any portion of the fee required by this section if the court finds that a person subject to the surcharge is indigent or financially unable to pay all or any portion of the surcharge. The court may waive only the portion of the surcharge that the court finds the person is financially unable to pay.
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All | Not provided for | Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Waive portion of surcharge. |
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Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 176.085 | Reduction of excessive fine or administrative assessment; payment in installments. |
Whenever, after a fine and administrative assessment have been imposed but before they have been discharged by payment or confinement, it is made to appear to the judge or justice + See moreimposing the fine or administrative assessment or his or her successor: 1. That the fine or administrative assessment is excessive in relation to the financial resources of the defendant, the judge or justice or his or her successor may reduce the fine accordingly.
2. That the discharge of the fine or administrative assessment is not within the defendant’s present financial ability to pay, the judge or justice or his or her successor may direct that the fine be paid in installments.
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All |
excessive in relation to the financial resources of the defendant; not withiin the defendant's present financial ability to pay |
At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
Installment plan |
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Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 484C.515 (2) | Fee for specialty court programs |
If the fee pursuant to subsection 1: (a) Is not within the defendant’s present ability to pay, the justice or judge may include in the sentence, + See morein addition to any other penalty or administrative assessment provided by law, community service for a reasonable number of hours, the value of which would be commensurate with the fee.
(b) Is not entirely within the defendant’s present ability to pay, the justice or judge may include in the sentence, in addition to any other penalty or administrative assessment provided by law, a reduced fee and community service for a reasonable number of hours, the value of which would be commensurate with the amount of the reduction of the fee.
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Misdemeanor |
not within the defendant’s present ability to pay; not entirely within the defendant's present ability to pay |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
community service; reduced fee |
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Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 211A.130 (3) | Fees for cost of supervision: Imposition; waiver or reduction |
3. If the chief determines that payment of the fee would result in economic hardship to a probationer or a supervised releasee, the chief may waive the imposition of, or reduce + See morethe amount of, the fee. If the chief waives the imposition of the fee, payment of the fee by the probationer or the supervised releasee does not constitute a condition of his or her suspended sentence, residential confinement or pretrial or presentence release.
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All |
economic hardship |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
reduction or waiver of fee |
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Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 213.1076 (2) | Fee to defray costs of supervision; regulations; waiver |
2. The Chief may waive the fee to defray the cost of supervision, in whole or in part, if the Chief determines that payment of the fee would create an economic + See morehardship on the parolee, probationer or person supervised by the Division through residential confinement.
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All |
economic hardship |
Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
reduction or waiver of fee |
The Criminal Justice Debt Reform Builder is a project of the National Criminal Justice Debt Initiative of the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and with user experience design by metaLAB (at) Harvard.
For more information, please visit cjpp.law.harvard.edu.