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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	Virginia	Va. Code Ann. § 17.1-275(A)(27)	Fees collected by clerks of circuit courts; generally- Credit Card convenience fee	27. For the acceptance of credit or debit cards in lieu of money to collect and secure all fees, including filing fees, fines, restitution, forfeiture, penalties and costs, the clerk + See more shall collect from the person presenting such credit or debit card a reasonable convenience fee for the processing of such credit or debit card. Such convenience fee shall not exceed four percent of the amount paid for the transaction or a flat fee of $2 per transaction. The clerk may set a lower convenience fee for electronic filing of civil or criminal proceedings pursuant to § 17.1-258.3. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the clerk from outsourcing the processing of credit and debit card transactions to a third-party private vendor engaged by the clerk. Convenience fees shall be used to cover operational expenses as defined in § 17.1-295.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §176.0635	Administrative assessment, fine or fee for felony or gross misdemeanor: Additional costs and fees for collection.	1. A defendant who pleads guilty or guilty but mentally ill or is found guilty or guilty but mentally ill who owes a fine, administrative assessment or fee, pursuant to NRS + See more 176.0625, must be assessed by and pay to the county treasurer or other office assigned by the county to make collections the following costs and fees if the county treasurer or other office assigned by the county to make collections is successful in collecting the fine, administrative assessment or fee: (a) The costs and fees actually incurred in collecting the fine, administrative assessment or fee; and (b) A fee payable to the county treasurer in the amount of 2 percent of the amount of the fine, administrative assessment or fee assigned to the county treasurer or other office assigned by the county to make collections. 2. The total amount of the costs and fees required to be collected pursuant to subsection 1 must not exceed 35 percent of the amount of the fine, administrative assessment or fee or $50,000, whichever is less.	Collection fee/interest	Felony	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Oklahoma	22 Okl.St.Ann. § 456A	Bench warrant, fee for issuance of	For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge + See more and collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Oklahoma	22 Okl.St.Ann. § 966A	Bench warrant, fee for issuance of	For the issuance of each bench warrant for a defendant's failure to pay court costs, fines, fees, or assessments in felony, misdemeanor, or traffic cases, the court clerk shall charge + See more and collect a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). The fee shall be included in the execution bond amount on the face of the bench warrant which is issued for the defendant's failure to pay and shall be in addition to the delinquent amount owed by the defendant. This fee shall be deposited in the court clerk's revolving fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 220 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 22-138	Municipal collection agency contracts	A governing body of a municipality that enters into a contract with a collection agency pursuant to this section may authorize the addition of a collection fee in an amount + See more not to exceed thirty-five percent (35%) on each item described in subsection A of this section that has been referred by the municipality to the collection agency for collection. If a municipality enters into such contract with a collection agency and authorizes the collection fee, the court shall order defendants to reimburse the fee arising pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection A of this section and such court-ordered fee may be collected as provided by law for the collection of any other civil debt or criminal action.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-24-105(d)(2)	Collection; fines, costs and litigation taxes; license revocation	On or after January 1, 2015, if an agent is used, the agent's collection fee shall be added to the total amount owed. The agent's collection fee shall not exceed + See more forty percent (40%) of any amounts actually collected. When moneys are paid into court, the allocation formula outlined in subsection (a) shall be followed, except up to forty percent (40%) may be withheld for the collection agent, with the remainder being allocated according to the formula.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-805(E)	Restitution and Fines: Jurisdiction	A criminal restitution order may be recorded and is enforceable as any civil judgment, except that a criminal restitution order does not require renewal pursuant to section 12-1611 or 12-1612. + See more Enforcement of a criminal restitution order by any person or by the state on behalf of any person who is entitled to restitution includes the collection of interest that accrues at a rate of ten percent a year. Enforcement of a criminal restituion order by the state includes the collection of interest that accrues at a rate of four percent a year. A criminal restitution order does not expire until paid in full. A filing fee, A recording fee or any other charge is not required for recording a criminal restitution order.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. § 322.245(1)	Suspension of license upon failure of person charged with specified offense	(1) If a person charged with a violation of any of the criminal offenses enumerated in s. 318.17 or with the commission of any offense constituting a misdemeanor under chapter + See more 320 or this chapter fails to comply with all of the directives of the court within the time allotted by the court, the clerk of the traffic court shall mail to the person, at the address specified on the uniform traffic citation, a notice of such failure, notifying him or her that, if he or she does not comply with the directives of the court within 30 days after the date of the notice and pay a delinquency fee of up to $25 to the clerk, from which the clerk shall remit $10 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund, his or her driver license will be suspended. The notice shall be mailed no later than 5 days after such failure. The delinquency fee may be retained by the office of the clerk to defray the operating costs of the office.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Florida	Fla. Stat. §28.246(6)	Payment of court-related fines or other monetary penalties, fees, charges, and costs; partial payments; distribution of funds	A clerk of court shall pursue the collection of any fees, service charges, fines, court costs, and liens for the payment of attorney fees and costs pursuant to s. 938.29 + See more which remain unpaid after 90 days by referring the account to a private attorney who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar or collection agent who is registered and in good standing pursuant to chapter 559. In pursuing the collection of such unpaid financial obligations through a private attorney or collection agent, the clerk of the court must have attempted to collect the unpaid amount through a collection court, collections docket, or other collections process, if any, established by the court, find this to be cost-effective and follow any applicable procurement practices. The collection fee, including any reasonable attorney’s fee, paid to any attorney or collection agent retained by the clerk may be added to the balance owed in an amount not to exceed 40 percent of the amount owed at the time the account is referred to the attorney or agent for collection. The clerk shall give the private attorney or collection agent the application for the appointment of court-appointed counsel regardless of whether the court file is otherwise confidential from disclosure.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(e)	Fines: Default	An additional fee of 30% of the delinquent amount and each taxable court cost including, without limitation, costs of service of process, shall be charged to the offender for any + See more amount of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture or installment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture that remains unpaid after the time fixed for payment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture by the court.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Illinois	730 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/5-9-3(e)	Fines: Default	A default in payment of a fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture shall draw interest at the rate of 9% per annum.	Collection fee/interest	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2404	Misdemeanor cases; fines and costs; judgment; levy; commitment	In all cases of misdemeanor in which courts or magistrates shall have power to fine any offender, and shall render judgment for such fine, it shall be lawful to issue + See more executions for the same, with the costs taxed against the offender, to be levied on the goods and chattels of any such offender, and, for want of the same, upon the body of the offender, who shall, following a determination that the offender has the financial ability to pay such fine pursuant to section 29-2412, be committed to the jail of the proper county until the fine and costs be paid, or secured to be paid, or the offender be otherwise discharged according to law.	Collection fee/interest, Incarceration	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. § 504-A:13(I)	Supervision and Service Charges	The court shall establish a supervision fee for probationers, and the parole board shall establish a supervision fee for parolees. The fee shall not be less than $40 a month, + See more unless waived in whole or in part by the court, board or commissioner, and may be any greater amount as established by the court or board. This fee shall be considered a condition of release, and failure to satisfy this obligation shall be grounds for a violation hearing, unless the probationer or parolee has been found to be indigent and, for that reason, unable to pay the fee. Service charges for collection of fines and fees, other than supervision fees, shall be established at 10 percent of the funds collected.	Collection fee/interest, Condition or extension of supervision	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 7A-321(b)(1)	Collection of offender fines and fees assessed by the court; collection assistance fee	(b) In attempting to collect the fines, fees, costs, and restitution owed by offenders not sentenced to supervised probation or active time, the Administrative Office of the Courts may do + See more the following: (1) Assess a collection assistance fee if an amount due remains unpaid for 30 days after the time period allotted by the court. The amount of the collection assistance fee shall not exceed the average cost of collecting the debt or twenty percent (20%) of the amount past due, whichever is less. (2) Enter into contracts with a collection agency, agencies, or municipal or county government agencies to collect unpaid amounts owed. The Administrative Office of the Courts may provide by such contract for the collection assistance fee to be retained by the agency or agencies that collect the amounts owed. (3) Intercept tax refund checks under Chapter 105A of the General Statutes, the Setoff Debt Collection Act.	Collection fee/interest, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws. Ann. § 12-25-26	Recovery of victim compensation from offender	Whenever any person is convicted of an offense and compensation is awarded under this chapter or under the 1972 Act for a personal injury or death resulting from the act + See more constituting the offense, the state of Rhode Island shall institute an action against that person for the recovery of the whole or any specified part of the compensation in the superior court of the state of Rhode Island in any county, or in the state or federal court of any other state or district in which that person resides or is found, or make a finding in writing, of the reasons why it is impractical or impossible to institute that action. The office shall pursue the recovery whenever possible in order to provide additional funds for the violent crimes indemnity account. The administrator shall develop rules and regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42, to identify those so convicted, determine their ability to compensate the fund, and file whatever action is appropriate to recoup those funds.	Civil judgment, Other	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-6-111	Execution on judgments	Upon assessment of any fine and costs for the conviction of a violation of any ordinance of a city or town, judgment shall be entered against the defendant in favor + See more of the city or town. If the judgment is not paid within ninety (90) days from the date of the judgment the city or town may collect judgment by execution in circuit court in the manner provided by law. Except as otherwise provided by law all amounts recovered pursuant to this section shall be deposited with the city or town treasurer, used for the benefit of the city or town, and credited against the fine and reasonable costs of collection.	Civil judgment	Misdemeanor	Yes

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