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Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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	State	Statute	Description/Statute Name	Statutory language	Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap	Level of offense	Mandatory
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 601-17.5	Collection of delinquent court-ordered payments	The judiciary may contract with a collection agency bonded under chapter 443B or with a licensed attorney to collect any delinquent court-ordered penalties, fines, restitution, sanctions, and court costs, including + See more juvenile monetary assessments. Any fees or costs associated with the collection efforts shall be added to the amount due and retained by the collection agency as its payment; provided that no fees or costs shall exceed fifty per cent of the amount collected.	Collection fee/interest	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291C-171.5	Collection of fines and costs	(a) Unless discharged by payment or service of imprisonment in default of a fine, a fine may be collected in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action.(b) + See more Costs may be collected in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action, but shall not be deemed part of the penalty, and no person shall be imprisoned under this section in default of payment of costs. (c) The state attorney general may institute proceedings to collect the fine, and costs, including interest and attorney's fees, as a civil judgment in the court of appropriate jurisdiction.	Civil judgment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291D-9(c)	Adjudication of Traffic Infractions: Monetary assessments	(c) In addition to any monetary assessment imposed for a traffic infraction, the court may impose additional assessments for: (1) Failure to pay a monetary assessment by the scheduled date + See more of payment; or (2) The cost of service of a penal summons issued pursuant to this chapter.	Increased fine	Traffic	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(1)	Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection	(1) When a defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 706-605, granted a conditional discharge pursuant to section 712-1255, or granted a deferred plea pursuant to chapter 853, and the defendant + See more is ordered to pay a fee, fine, or restitution, whether as an independent order, as part of a judgment and sentence, or as a condition of probation or deferred plea, and the defendant defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment, the court, upon the motion of the prosecuting attorney or upon its own motion, may require the defendant to show cause why the defendant's default should not be treated as contumacious and may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the defendant's appearance. Unless the defendant shows that the defendant's default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court, or to a failure on the defendant's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment, the court shall find that the defendant's default was contumacious and may order the defendant committed until the fee, fine, restitution, or a specified part thereof is paid.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(4)	Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection	(4) If it appears that the defendant's default in the payment of a fee, fine, or restitution is not contumacious, the court may make an order allowing the defendant additional + See more time for payment, reducing the amount of each installment, or revoking the fee, fine, or the unpaid portion thereof in whole or in part, or converting the unpaid portion of the fee or fine to community service. A defendant shall not be discharged from an order to pay restitution until the full amount of the restitution has actually been collected or accounted for.	Community service	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(5)	Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection	(5) Unless discharged by payment or, in the case of a fee or fine, service of imprisonment pursuant to subsection (3), an order to pay a fee, fine, or restitution, + See more whether as an independent order, as a part of a judgment and sentence, or as a condition of probation or deferred plea pursuant to chapter 853, may be collected in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. The State or the victim named in the order may collect the restitution, including costs, interest, and attorney's fees, pursuant to section 706-646. The State may collect the fee or fine, including costs, interest, and attorney's fees pursuant to section 706-647.	Civil judgment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-642(2)	Time and method of payment	(2) When a defendant sentenced to pay a fine is also sentenced to probation, the court may make the payment of the fine a condition of probation.	Condition or extension of supervision	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-644(3)	Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection	(3) The term of imprisonment for nonpayment of fee, fine, or restitution shall be specified in the order of commitment, and shall not exceed one day for each $25 of + See more the fee or fine, thirty days if the fee or fine was imposed upon conviction of a violation or a petty misdemeanor, or one year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of a fee or fine shall be given credit toward payment of the fee or fine for each day of imprisonment, at the rate of $25 per day.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-630	Probation: Discharge of defendant	Upon the termination of the period of the probation or the earlier discharge of the defendant, the defendant shall be relieved of any obligations imposed by the order of the + See more court and shall have satisfied the disposition of the court, except as to any action under this chapter to collect unpaid fines, restitution, attorney’s fees, costs, or interest.	Condition or extension of supervision	Misdemeanor, Felony	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	705 Ill. Comp. Stat. 105/27.2b	State income tax refund intercept	The Clerk of the Circuit Court may enter into an agreement with the Illinois Department of Revenue to establish a pilot program for the purpose of collecting certain balances owed. + See more The purpose shall be to intercept, in whole or in part, State income tax refunds due the persons who owe past due fees to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in order to satisfy unpaid assessments under the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act [705 ILCS 135/1-1 et seq.] and fines as ordered by the court.	Other	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-5-6(f)	Restitution	Taking into consideration the ability of the defendant to pay, including any real or personal property or any other assets of the defendant, the court shall determine whether restitution shall + See more be paid in a single payment or in installments, and shall fix a period of time not in excess of 5 years, except for violations of Sections 16-1.3 and 17-56 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 [720 ILCS 5/17-56], or the period of time specified in subsection (f-1), not including periods of incarceration, within which payment of restitution is to be paid in full. Complete restitution shall be paid in as short a time period as possible. However, if the court deems it necessary and in the best interest of the victim, the court may extend beyond 5 years the period of time within which the payment of restitution is to be paid. If the defendant is ordered to pay restitution and the court orders that restitution is to be paid over a period greater than 6 months, the court shall order that the defendant make monthly payments; the court may waive this requirement of monthly payments only if there is a specific finding of good cause for waiver.	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(a)-(b)	Fines: Default	(a) An offender who defaults in the payment of a fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt and imprisoned for nonpayment. The court may issue a + See more summons for his appearance or a warrant of arrest. (b) Unless the offender shows that his default was not due to his intentional refusal to pay, or not due to a failure on his part to make a good faith effort to pay, the court may order the offender imprisoned for a term not to exceed 6 months if the fine was for a felony, or 30 days if the fine was for a misdemeanor, a petty offense or a business offense. Payment of the fine at any time will entitle the offender to be released, but imprisonment under this Section shall not satisfy the payment of the fine.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	725 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/113-3.1(g)	Payment for Court-Appointed Counsel	A defendant who fails to obey any order of court entered under this Section may be punished for contempt of court. Any arrearage in payments may be reduced to judgment + See more in the court's discretion and collected by any means authorized for the collection of money judgments under the law of this State.	Collection fee/interest	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2B:12-23	Community Service	a. A person, sentenced by a municipal court to pay a fine, who defaults in payment may be ordered to perform community service in lieu of incarceration or other modification + See more of the sentence with the person's consent. b. The county or municipal official in charge of the community service program shall report to the municipal court any failure of a person subject to a court work order to report for work or to perform the assigned work. Upon receipt of the report, the court may revoke its community service order and impose any sentence consistent with the original sentence.	Community service	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2B:12-23.1	Community Service	Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a municipal court finds that a person does not have the ability to pay a penalty in full on the date + See more of the hearing or has failed to pay a previously imposed penalty, the court may order the person to perform community service in lieu of the payment of a penalty; or, order the payment of the penalty in installments for a period of time determined by the court. If a person defaults on any payment and a municipal court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay, the court may: (1) reduce the penalty, suspend the penalty, or modify the installment plan; (2) order that credit be given against the amount owed for each day of confinement, if the court finds that the person has served jail time for the default; (3) revoke any unpaid portion of the penalty, if the court finds that the circumstances that warranted the imposition have changed or that it would be unjust to require payment; (4) order the person to perform community service in lieu of payment of the penalty; or (5) impose any other alternative permitted by law in lieu of payment of the penalty. b. For the purposes of this section, “penalty” means any fine, statutorily-mandated assessment, surcharge or other financial penalty imposed by a municipal court, except restitution or a surcharge assessed pursuant to subsection f. of section 1 of P.L.2000, c. 75 (C.39:4-97.2).	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	If the court finds that the person defaulted on payment of a court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court without good cause and finds + See more that the default was willful, the court may, in addition to the action required by paragraph (1) of this subsection a., impose a term of imprisonment or participation in a labor assistance program or enforced community service to achieve the objective of the court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court. These options shall not reduce the amount owed by the person in default. The term of imprisonment or enforced community service or participation in a labor assistance program in such case shall be specified in the order of commitment. It need not be equated with any particular dollar amount but, in the case of a fine it shall not exceed one day for each $50 of the fine nor shall it exceed a period of 90 consecutive days. In no case shall the total period of imprisonment in the case of a disorderly persons offense for both the sentence of imprisonment and for failure to pay a fine exceed six months.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	If the court finds that the person defaulted on payment of a court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court without good cause and finds + See more that the default was willful, the court may, in addition to the action required by paragraph (1) of this subsection a., impose a term of imprisonment or participation in a labor assistance program or enforced community service to achieve the objective of the court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court. These options shall not reduce the amount owed by the person in default. The term of imprisonment or enforced community service or participation in a labor assistance program in such case shall be specified in the order of commitment. It need not be equated with any particular dollar amount but, in the case of a fine it shall not exceed one day for each $50 of the fine nor shall it exceed a period of 90 consecutive days. In no case shall the total period of imprisonment in the case of a disorderly persons offense for both the sentence of imprisonment and for failure to pay a fine exceed six months.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	If the court finds that the person defaulted on payment of a court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court without good cause and finds + See more that the default was willful, the court may, in addition to the action required by paragraph (1) of this subsection a., impose a term of imprisonment or participation in a labor assistance program or enforced community service to achieve the objective of the court-imposed financial obligation, restitution, or child support or other support or maintenance ordered by a court. These options shall not reduce the amount owed by the person in default. The term of imprisonment or enforced community service or participation in a labor assistance program in such case shall be specified in the order of commitment. It need not be equated with any particular dollar amount but, in the case of a fine it shall not exceed one day for each $50 of the fine nor shall it exceed a period of 90 consecutive days. In no case shall the total period of imprisonment in the case of a disorderly persons offense for both the sentence of imprisonment and for failure to pay a fine exceed six months.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	Except where incarceration is ordered pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection a., if the court finds that the person has defaulted the court may take one or more of the + See more following actions: (a) the court shall take appropriate action to modify or establish a reasonable schedule for payment; (b) in the case of a fine, if the court finds that the circumstances that warranted the fine have changed or that it would be unjust to require payment, the court may revoke or suspend the fine or the unpaid portion of the fine; or (c) if the defendant has served jail time for default on a court-imposed financial obligation, the court may order that credit for each day of confinement be given against the amount owed. The amount of the credit shall be determined at the discretion of the court but shall be not less than $50 for each day of confinement served.	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:46-2	Consequences of Nonpayment	When a defendant sentenced to make restitution to a public entity other than the Victims of Crime Compensation Office, defaults in the payment thereof or any installment, the court may, in lieu of + See more other modification of the sentence, order the defendant to perform work in a labor assistance program or enforced community service program.	Community service	All	No

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