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.
Every law can be saved to the Reform Builder
See all ability to pay policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide
State
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- (-) Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (19)
- Colorado (13)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (2)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (5)
- Hawaii (3)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (0)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (2)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (0)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (5)
- Michigan (3)
- Minnesota (0)
- Mississippi (0)
- Missouri (2)
- Montana (0)
- Nebraska (5)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (3)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (0)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (2)
- Oklahoma (3)
- Oregon (0)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (0)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (3)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- (-) Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (3)
- Washington DC (0)
- West Virginia (2)
- Wisconsin (0)
- Wyoming (7)
Keyword search
Reset
Reset all filtersTimeline
Burden of proof
Method of determination
Narrrow results
Level of Offense
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.
4 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Add to Dashboard
|
Arizona | Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-810(E) | Consequences of nonpayment of fines, surcharges, fees, assessments, restitution or incarceration costs |
(E)If the court finds that the defendant has wilfully failed to pay a fine, a surcharge, a fee, an assessment, restitution or incarceration costs or finds that the defendant has intentionally refused to make a good faith effort to obtain the monies required for the payment, the court shall find that the default constitutes contempt and may do any of the following:
1. Order the defendant incarcerated in the county jail until the fine, surcharge, fee, assessment, restitution or incarceration costs, or a specified part of the fine, surcharge, fee, assessment, restitution or incarceration costs, is paid. 2. Refer the defendant for revocation of probation, parole or community supervision as authorized by law. 3. Enter an order pursuant to section 13-812. The levy or execution for the collection of a fine, a surcharge, a fee, an assessment, restitution or incarceration costs does not discharge a defendant who is incarcerated for nonpayment of the fine, surcharge, fee, assessment, restitution or incarceration costs until the amount of the fine, surcharge, fee, assessment, restitution or incarceration costs is collected. 4. Order the defendant to perform community restitution. |
All | Not provided for | At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
Modified payment arrangements |
|
Add to Dashboard
|
Arizona | Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-824(A) | Community restitution in lieu off monetary obligation |
A. Notwithstanding any other law, if a monetary obligation is imposed on a defendant at sentencing and the court finds the defendant is unable to pay all or part of the monetary obligation, the court may order the defendant to perform community restitution in lieu of the payment for all or part of the monetary obligation. The amount of community restitution shall be equivalent to the amount of the monetary obligation by crediting any service performed at a rate of ten dollars per hour.
|
All | Not provided for | At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Not provided for | No |
Community Restitution |
|
Add to Dashboard
|
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 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; 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
|
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 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. |
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.