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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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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Alabama | Ala.Code 1975 § 15-12-25(a)(2) | Appointed counsel: Payment of fees by defendant. |
The court shall not order a defendant to pay the fees of court appointed counsel unless the defendant is or will be able to pay them. In determining the amount and method of payment of these fees, the court shall take into account the financial resources of the defendant and the nature of the burden that payment of the fees will impose. A defendant who has been ordered to pay the fees of court appointed counsel and who is not in contumacious default in the payment thereof may at any time petition the court which sentenced him or her for remission of the payment of these fees or of any unpaid portion thereof. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the defendant or the immediate family of the defendant, the court may remit all or part of the amount due in fees or modify the method of payment.
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All |
"manifest hardship" |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
The court may remit all or part of the amount due in fees or modify the method of payment. |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(f) | Conditions of Suspension or Probation |
(1) If the court suspends imposition of sentence on a defendant or places him or her on probation conditioned upon his or her making restitution under subdivision (c)(6) of this section, the court, by concurrence of the victim, defendant, and the prosecuting authority, shall determine the amount to be paid as restitution. (2) After considering the assets, financial condition, and occupation of the defendant, the court shall further determine: (A) Whether restitution shall be total or partial; (B) The amounts to be paid if by periodic payments; and (C) If a personal service is contemplated, the reasonable value and rate of compensation for the personal service rendered to the victim.
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All | Not provided for | Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | Yes | Not provided for |
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Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-303(g)(2)(B) | Conditions of Suspension or Probation |
The amount of the assessed attorney's fee shall be commensurate with the defendant's ability to pay. |
All | Not provided for | Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | Yes |
Waiver/Reduction of Fee. |
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Arkansas | A.C.A. § 16-13-704 | Installment Payments -- Definition |
(a) (1) If the court concludes that the defendant has the ability to pay the fine, but that requiring the defendant to make immediate payment in full would cause a severe and undue hardship for the defendant and the defendant's dependents, the court may authorize payment of the fine by means of installment payments in accordance with this subchapter; (d) "Ability to pay" means that the resources of the defendant, including all available income and resources, are sufficient to pay the fine and provide the defendant and his or her dependents with a reasonable subsistence compatible with health and decency.
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All |
"The resources of the defendant, including all available income and resources, are sufficient to pay the fine and provide the defendant and his or her dependents with a reasonable subsistence compatible with health and decency."
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Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No | Not provided for |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.030(2) | Fines for felonies |
(2) In determining the amount and method of paying a fine for commission of a felony, the court shall consider, among others, the following factors: (a) The defendant's ability to pay the amount of the fine; (b) The hardship likely to be imposed on the defendant's dependents by the amount of the fine and the time and method of paying it; (c) The impact the amount of the fine will have on the defendant's ability to make reparation or restitution to the victim; and (d) The amount of the defendant's gain, if any, derived from the commission of the offense.
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Felony | Not provided for | Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | Yes |
Not specified |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 534.045(1)-(3) | Assessment of reimbursement fee against jail prisoners; collection; fee determination; relevant evidence; modification |
(1) Pursuant to a conviction of a misdemeanor, including traffic offenses, where a person is sentenced to incarceration in the county jail, the District Court may assess a reimbursement fee to help defray the expenses of the prisoner's room and board. The reimbursement fee shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the prisoner's gross daily wages or forty dollars ($40) per day, whichever is less. All moneys shall be paid directly to the jailer.
(2) In determining whether a reimbursement fee as described in subsection (1) of this section is to be assessed, and in establishing the amount of the fee, the court shall consider evidence relevant to the prisoner's ability to pay the fee . . . (3) After considering all relevant evidence to the issue of the prisoner's ability to pay, the court shall enter as part of its judgment the amount of the reimbursement fee, if any, that shall be paid by the prisoner during his period of incarceration in the county jail. The fee shall bear a reasonable relationship to the person's income. Upon petition by the prisoner affected by the order, the amount may be modified to reflect any changes in the financial status of the prisoner. In any appeal that might be taken from the conviction, the amount of the reimbursement fee may be challenged. |
All | Not provided for | Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | Yes |
Not specified |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 510.320(2)-(3),(6) | Human immunodeficiency virus testing for defendants accused of certain sexual offenses; results; counseling when test positive; cost; effect of appeal |
(2) A defendant charged with an offense pursuant to this chapter which has sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse as an element, or has sexual contact as an element when the circumstances of the case demonstrate a possibility of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, shall upon initial court appearance on the charge, be informed by the judge of the availability of human immunodeficiency virus testing. The judge shall also notify the victim of the offense, or parent or guardian of the victim, that the defendant has been so notified.
(3) When a defendant has been convicted of any offense in subsection (2) of this section, other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the sentencing court, regardless of any prior human immunodeficiency virus test, shall order the defendant to undergo a human immunodeficiency virus test, under the direction of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services... (6) The cost of testing under this section shall be paid by the defendant tested, unless the court has determined the defendant to be indigent. |
All |
Indigency |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | Yes |
Not specified |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 31.211(1) |
Determination of ability to pay partial fee for representation and services at arraignment; collection of unpaid partial fee by civil judgment; partial fee credited to local office or department; funds + See moreplaced in special trust and agency account
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At arraignment, the court shall conduct a nonadversarial hearing to determine whether a person who has requested a public defender is able to pay a partial fee for legal representation, the other necessary services and facilities of representation, and court costs. The court shall order payment in an amount determined by the court and may order that the payment be made in a lump sum or by installment payments to recover money for representation provided under this chapter. This partial fee determination shall be made at each stage of the proceedings.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge after hearing | Yes |
If the court finds that an individual is unable to pay (is "needy") the court shall waive all costs, see Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 31.110 |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24A.175 | Court costs for criminal cases in District Court; payment required; exceptions; treatment of minor defendant |
The taxation of court costs against a defendant, upon conviction in a case, including persons sentenced to state traffic school as provided under KRS 186.574, 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.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | Yes |
Not specified |
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Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 441.265(5) | "Required reimbursement by prisoner of costs of confinement; local policy of fee and expense rates; billing and collection methods" |
(5) The governing body of the county may require a prisoner who is confined in the county jail to pay a reasonable fee, not exceeding actual cost, for any medical treatment or service received by the prisoner. However, no prisoner confined in the jail shall be denied any necessary medical care because of inability to pay.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Administrative decision | Yes |
N/A |
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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. § 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.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. |
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.