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.
6 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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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-646(3) | Victim restitution |
(3) In ordering restitution, the court shall not consider the defendant's financial ability to make restitution in determining the amount of restitution to order. The court, however, shall consider the defendant's financial ability to make restitution for the purpose of establishing the time and manner of payment. The court shall specify the time and manner in which restitution is to be paid. Restitution shall be a dollar amount that is sufficient to reimburse any victim fully for losses, including but not limited to:(a) Full value of stolen or damaged property, as determined by replacement costs of like property, or the actual or estimated cost of repair, if repair is possible; (b) Medical expenses; and (c) Funeral and burial expenses incurred as a result of the crime.
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All |
Not provided for |
At enforcement of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Time and manner of payment may be ordered considering an individual's ability to pay. |
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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-641 | Criteria for imposing fines |
(1) The court shall not sentence a defendant only to pay a fine, when any other disposition is authorized by law, except in misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor cases. (2) The court shall not sentence a defendant to pay a fine in addition to a sentence of imprisonment or probation unless: (a) The defendant has derived a pecuniary gain from the crime; or (b) The court is of the opinion that a fine is specially adapted to the deterrence of the crime involved or to the correction of the defendant.
(3) The court shall not sentence a defendant to pay a fine unless: (a) The defendant is or will be able to pay the fine; and (b) The fine will not prevent the defendant from making restitution to the victim of the offense. (4) In determining the amount and method of payment of a fine, the court shall take into account the financial resources of the defendant and the nature of the burden that its payment will impose. |
All |
The financial resources of the defendant and the nature of the burden that its payment will impose. |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Court shall sentence defendant to pay a fine. |
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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-605(6) | Authorized disposition of convicted defendants |
(6) The court shall impose a compensation fee upon every person convicted of a criminal offense pursuant to section 351-62.6; provided that the court shall waive the imposition of a compensation fee if it finds that the defendant is unable to pay the compensation fee. When a defendant is ordered to make payments in addition to the compensation fee, payments by the defendant shall be made in the order of priority established in section 706-651.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | Yes |
Fee waiver. |
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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-650(5) | Drug demand reduction assessments; special fund |
(5) If the court determines that the person has the ability to pay the monetary assessment and is eligible for probation or will not be sentenced to incarceration, unless otherwise required by law, the court may order the person to undergo a substance abuse treatment program at the person’s expense. If the person undergoes a substance abuse treatment program at the person’s expense, the court may waive or reduce the amount of the monetary assessment. Upon a showing by the person that the person lacks the financial ability to pay all or part of the monetary assessment, the court may waive or reduce the amount of the monetary assessment.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Burden on defendant to show inability to pay | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Waive or reduce amount of fee. |
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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. 853-1(b) | Deferred acceptance of guilty plea or nolo contendere plea; discharge and dismissal, expungement of records |
(b) . . . the court shall impose a compensation fee pursuant to section 351-62.6 and a probation services fee pursuant to section 706-648 upon every defendant who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or felony; provided that the court shall waive the imposition of a compensation or probation services fee, if it finds that the defendant is unable to pay the compensation or probation services fee. The court may defer the proceedings for a period of time as the court shall direct but in no case to exceed the maximum sentence allowable; provided that, if the defendant has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a petty misdemeanor, the court may defer the proceedings for a period not to exceed one year. The defendant may be subject to bail or recognizance at the court's discretion during the period during which the proceedings are deferred.
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All |
Not provided for |
Before imposition of fine or fee | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | Yes |
Fee waiver. |
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Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291D-9 | Adjudication of Traffic Infractions: Monetary assessments |
(d) The court may grant to a person claiming inability to pay, an extension of the period in which the monetary assessment shall be paid or may impose community service in lieu thereof. If the assessment is not paid or the community service is not performed on or before the date established and the court has not extended the time, the court shall take action as provided in section 291D-10.
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All | Not provided for | Not provided for | Not provided for | Determined by judge without hearing | No |
Extension of time to pay or community service in lieu of payment. |
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.