Data Explorer: Ability to pay | 50 State Criminal Justice Debt Tool

Ability to Pay

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	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
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5238(f)	Co-payment and reimbursement orders	A person who may be or has been ordered to pay all or part of the cost of representation by co-payment or reimbursement order may at any time petition the + See more court making the order for remission of all of the amount or any part thereof. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require, the court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.	All	Payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so + See more require.	At defendant's request before imposition of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Other	No	Court will remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(c)(3),(4)(C)	Remedies for failure to pay fines, costs, surcharges, and penalties	(c) Civil contempt proceeding. (3) Hearing. -- The hearing shall be conducted in a summary manner. The court shall examine the defendant and any other witnesses and may require the defendant + See more to produce documents relevant to the defendant's ability to pay the amount due. Evidence is admissible if it is of a type commonly relied upon by a reasonably prudent person in the conduct of his or her affairs. The Vermont Rules of Evidence shall not apply except that the rules related to privilege shall apply. The State shall not be a party except with the permission of the court. The defendant may be represented by counsel at the defendant's own expense. (4)(C) If the court concludes that the defendant is not in contempt because the defendant does not have the ability to pay the amount due, the court may: (i) suspend all or any part of the amount due in the interests of justice, except that the court may not waive surcharges imposed pursuant to section 7282 of this title; (ii) order the defendant to participate in the Restorative Justice Program conducted by a community reparative board and direct the reparative board to determine an appropriate amount of community service to be performed in lieu of all or part of the amount due.	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Determined by judge after hearing	Yes	Suspend all or any part of the amount due in the interests of justice, except that the court may not waive surcharges imposed pursuant to section 7282 of this title; + See more order the defendant to participate in the Restorative Justice Program conducted by a community reparative board and direct the reparative board to determine an appropriate amount of community service to be performed in lieu of all or part of the amount due.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7180(f)	Community service for traffic offense	(f) (1) A defendant who is not incarcerated may file a motion to convert all or part of a traffic offense fine to community service. The court may grant the motion if + See more the defendant establishes that he or she has made a good faith effort to pay the fine but is unable to do so. A fine converted to community service pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered a modification of sentence and shall not be subject to the time limits of Vermont Rule of Criminal Procedure 35. (2) Community service performed pursuant to a motion granted under this subsection shall be: (A) credited against outstanding fines at the then-existing rate of the Vermont minimum wage: (B) monitored by Diversion, a restorative justice panel of a community justice center, or a similar entity approved by the court, that shall report on the defendant's compliance status to the court; (C) performed in the county where the offense occurred. (3) A conversion of a fine to community service under this subsection: (A) shall not apply to surcharges, court costs, or other assessments; (B) shall be in addition to the contempt procedures applicable under this section.	Traffic	Made a good faith effort to pay the fine but is unable to do so.	At defendant's request at enforcement	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Other	No	Convert to community service
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 2022	Bad checks	A person who issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee, shall be imprisoned + See more for not more than one year or fined not more than $ 1,000.00, or both. The court shall order restitution in the amount of the check or order, together with a service charge not to exceed $ 5.00, if it is established that the defendant has the ability to pay.	Misdemeanor	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Not provided for	Yes	No restitution or service charge ordered
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 7043(d)(2),(e)(1)	Restitution	(d) In awarding restitution, the Court shall make findings with respect to: . . . (2) The offender's current ability to pay restitution, based on all financial information available to + See more the Court, including information provided by the offender. (e)(1) An order of restitution shall establish the amount of the material loss incurred by the victim, which shall be the restitution judgment order. In the event the offender is unable to pay the restitution judgment order at the time of sentencing, the court shall establish a restitution payment schedule for the offender based upon the offender's current and reasonably foreseeable ability to pay, subject to modification under subsection (l) of this section.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge after hearing	Yes	Payment plan
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5238(b)	Co-payment and reimbursement orders	(b) The court shall require any person assigned counsel pursuant to section 5236 of this title to pay for all or part of the cost of representation based upon his or + See more her ability to pay. Unless the person and cohabiting family members are found to be financially unable to pay, in all cases the court shall order a minimum payment of $ 50.00. (f) A person who may be or has been ordered to pay all or part of the cost of representation by co-payment or reimbursement order may at any time petition the court making the order for remission of all of the amount or any part thereof. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require, the court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.	All	Manifest hardships on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family or that the circumstances of case disposition and the interests of justice so require	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Not provided for	Yes	Not having to pay the cost or minimum fee for representation; court may remit all or part of the amount due or modify the method of payment.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 4 § 1109(c)(4)(A)	Remedies for failure to pay; contempt	(4)(A) Hearing. The hearing shall be conducted in a summary manner. The hearing officer shall examine the defendant and any other witnesses and may require the defendant to produce documents + See more relevant to the defendant's ability to pay the amount due. The State or municipality shall not be a party except with the permission of the hearing officer. The defendant may be represented by counsel at the defendant's own expense.	All	Not provided for	At enforcement of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Determined by judge after hearing	No	May not be held in contempt for failure to pay.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5255(b)	Recovery from defendant	(b) The Defender General or the Commissioner of Taxes, on behalf of the State, may recover reimbursement from each person, other than a person covered by subsection (a) of this + See more section, who has received legal assistance under this chapter and who, on the date on which suit is brought, is financially able to reimburse the State for it according to the standards of ability to pay applicable under subdivision 5201(3), section 5231, and subsection 5238 (b) of this title, but refuses to do so. Suit must be brought within three years after the date on which the benefit was received. The amount of recovery shall be equal to the average cost per case for representation supported by the budget of the Defender General for the calendar year in which legal assistance was completed as determined by the Defender General, less any reimbursement or co-payment actually paid for representation.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Not provided for	No	State may not recover reimbursement for received legal assistance.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13 § 5236	Determination of financial need	(a) The determination whether a person covered by sections 5231-5234 of this title is a needy person shall be deferred until his or her first appearance in court or in + See more a suit for payment or reimbursement under section 5255 of this title, whichever occurs earlier. Thereafter, the court shall determine, with respect to each proceeding, whether the person is a needy person. As used in this section, an appeal is a separate proceeding. The determination of need, for purposes of an appeal, shall be based on a separate application submitted on or after the date of the order appealed from, except that an appeal from a proceeding under 33 V.S.A. chapter 51, 52, or 53 is not a separate proceeding and does not require a separate application. (b) In determining whether a person is a needy person and the extent of his or her ability to pay, the court may consider such factors as income, property owned, outstanding obligations, and the number and ages of dependents as specified in rules of the Supreme Court adopted pursuant to section 5204 of this title. Release on bail does not necessarily disqualify a person from being a needy person. In each case, the person, subject to the penalties for perjury, shall certify in writing or by other record such information relating to ability to pay as the Supreme Court prescribes. (c) A determination of whether a person is a needy person under this section shall be made by the clerk of the court, or any other judicial officer of the court. After review of the initial determination by the presiding judge of the trial court the applicant, the State, or the Office of the Defender General may appeal the determination to a single Justice of the Supreme Court of this State, in accordance with the rules of the Supreme Court. (d) In determining whether a person is a needy person under this section and the extent of the person's ability to pay, the clerk of court or the judicial officer who is making that determination may require the applicant to provide proof of income at a time to be determined by the clerk or judicial officer.	All	In determining whether a person is a needy person and the extent of his or her ability to pay, court may consider such factors as income, property owned, outstanding obligations, + See more and the number and ages of dependents	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	N/A
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 244.18(4)	Local correctional fees; imposition on offenders	Exemption from fee. — The chief executive officer of the local correctional agency may waive payment of the fee if the officer determines that the offender does not have the ability to + See more pay the fee, the prospects for payment are poor, or there are extenuating circumstances justifying waiver of the fee. Instead of waiving the fee, the local correctional agency may require the offender to perform community work service as a means of paying the fee.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Fee waiver; community service.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 244.18(2)	Local correctional fees; imposition on offenders	Local correctional fees. — A local correctional agency may establish a schedule of local correctional fees to charge persons under the supervision and control of the local correctional agency to defray costs + See more associated with correctional services. The local correctional fees on the schedule must be reasonably related to defendants’ abilities to pay and the actual cost of correctional services.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Administrative decision	No	Not provided for
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02(5)(9)	Appeal by defendant	All fees--including appeal fees, hearing fees, or filing fees--ordinarily charged by the clerk of the appellate courts or court administrators are waived when the State Public Defender's office, or other + See more public defender's office, represents the defendant. The court must also waive these fees on a sufficient showing by any other attorney that the defendant cannot pay them.	All	Not provided for	Before imposition of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Fee waiver
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.104(1)(b)	Fine and Surcharge Collection	The defendant may contest the referral for collection based on inability to pay by requesting a hearing no later than the due date. The defendant shall be notified in writing at sentencing that under section 480.15, subdivision 10c, the court may refer the case for collection for nonpayment, and collection costs may be added to the amount due. The defendant shall also be notified in writing of the right to contest a referral for collection. The state court administrator shall develop + See more the notice language.	All	Not provided for	At defendant's request at enforcement	Not provided for	Determined by judge after hearing	Yes	Not specified
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.101(5)(b)	Surcharge on Fines, Assessments; Minimum Fines	If the defendant qualifies for the services of a public defender or the court finds on the record that the convicted person is indigent or that immediate payment of the + See more fine would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person’s immediate family, the court may reduce the amount of the minimum fine to not less than $ 50. Additionally, the court may permit the defendant to perform community work service in lieu of a fine.	All	Indigent or that immediate payment of the fine would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person’s immediate family.	Before imposition of fine or fee	Burden on defendant to show inability to pay	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Maximum $50 fine or community service.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.226(4)(c)	Harm caused by dog	The court shall order a person convicted of violating this subdivision to pay restitution for the costs and expenses resulting from the crime. Costs and expenses include, but are not + See more limited to, the service animal user's loss of income, veterinary expenses, transportation costs, and other expenses of temporary replacement assistance services, and service animal replacement or retraining costs incurred by a school, agency, or individual. If the court finds that the convicted person is indigent, the court may reduce the amount of restitution to a reasonable level or order it paid in installments.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Reduce the amount of restitution to a reasonable level or order it paid in installments.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.324(4)	Patrons; prostitutes; housing individuals engaged in prostitution; penalties	Community service in lieu of minimum fine. The court may order a person convicted of violating subdivision 2 or 3 to perform community work service in lieu of all or + See more a portion of the minimum fine required under those subdivisions if the court makes specific, written findings that the convicted person is indigent or that payment of the fine would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's immediate family. Community work service ordered under this subdivision is in addition to any mandatory community work service ordered under subdivision 3.	All	Indigent or that payment of the fine would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's immediate family.	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Community service in lieu of payment.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.3241(b)	Sex Crimes: Penalty assessment authorized	The court may not waive payment of the minimum assessment required by this section. If the defendant qualifies for the services of a public defender or the court finds on + See more the record that the convicted person is indigent or that immediate payment of the assessment would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's immediate family, the court may reduce the amount of the minimum assessment to not less than $100. The court also may authorize payment of the assessment in installments.	All	Indigent or that immediate payment of the assessment would create undue hardship for the convicted person or that person's immediate family,	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Reduce fee to $100 or less or allow for installments.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.3456(b)	Use of polygraphs for sex offenders on probation or conditional release	(b) The court or commissioner may order the offender to pay all or a portion of the costs of the examinations. The fee may be waived if the offender is + See more indigent or if payment would result in an economic hardship to the offender's immediate family.	All	Indigent or if payment would result in an economic hardship to the offender's immediate family	Not provided for	Not provided for	Not provided for	No	Fee waiver.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.596(2b)	Killing or harming public safety dog	Mandatory restitution. The court shall order a person convicted of violating this section to pay restitution for the costs and expenses resulting from the crime. Costs and expenses include, but + See more are not limited to, the purchase and training of a replacement dog and veterinary services for the injured dog. If the court finds that the convicted person is indigent, the court may reduce the amount of restitution to a reasonable level or order it paid in installments.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Reduce the amount of restitution to a reasonable level or order it paid in installments.
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 609.749(6)(c)-(d)	Stalking; penalties	(c) If the assessment indicates that the offender is in need of and amenable to mental health treatment, the court shall include in the sentence a requirement that the offender + See more undergo treatment. (d) The court shall order the offender to pay the costs of assessment under this subdivision unless the offender is indigent under section 563.01.	All	Indigent	Before imposition of fine or fee	Not provided for	Determined by judge without hearing	No	Not provided for

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