Data Explorer: Enforcement Mechanisms | 50 State Criminal Justice Debt Tool

Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

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 poverty penalty and poverty trap policy recommendations in CJPP’s Policy Guide

Below are the poverty penalties and poverty traps that meet your search criteria. Many include a See related provisions prompt which searches our database for laws that may pertain to your result.

21 Results

Export results to Excel

	State	Statute	Description/Statute Name	Statutory language	Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap	Level of offense	Mandatory
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Rules of Court 4.335(4)(B)	Ability to pay determination for infraction offenses	the court may exercise its discretion to: . . . (B) Allow the defendant to complete community service in lieu of paying the total fine (if available)	Community service	Misdemeanor	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Rules of Court 4.335(4)(A)	Ability to pay determination for infraction offenses	the court may exercise its discretion to: (A) Provide for payment on an installment plan	Payment plan/installment plan	Misdemeanor	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	CA ST J ADMIN STANDARDS Standard 4.40	Traffic infraction procedures	to insure the prompt and efficient disposition of traffic infraction cases, each court should:(1) Authorize the clerk, within limits set by the court, to grant defendants extensions of time for + See more the posting of bail and payment of fines.	Payment plan/installment plan	Traffic	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 166(e)(2)	Contempt of court; Stalking; Punishments	...If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (c), the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:(A) + See more That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s shelter, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000). (B) That the defendant provide restitution to reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.	Collection fee/interest	Misdemeanor	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 594(c), (f)	Vandalism; Punishment	(c) Upon conviction of any person under this section for acts of vandalism consisting of defacing property with graffiti or other inscribed materials, the court shall, when appropriate and feasible, in + See more addition to any punishment imposed under subdivision (b), order the defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property himself or herself, or order the defendant, and his or her parents or guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one year. Participation of a parent or guardian is not required under this subdivision if the court deems this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if the parent or guardian is a single parent who must care for young children. If the court finds that graffiti cleanup is inappropriate, the court shall consider other types of community service, where feasible.... (f) The court may order any person ordered to perform community service or graffiti removal pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) to undergo counseling.	Community service	Misdemeanor	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 1465.7(f)	Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: State surcharge; Transmittal to General Fund; Construction with Vehicle Code provisions	When amounts owed by an offender as a result of a conviction are paid in installment payments, payments shall be credited pursuant to Section 1203.1d. The amount of the surcharge + See more established by this section shall be transmitted to the State Treasury prior to the county retaining or disbursing the remaining amount of the fines, penalties, and forfeitures imposed.	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Veh. Code § 42003(a)	Penalties - Public Offense: Payment of fines; Consideration of defendant’s ability to pay	A judgment that a person convicted of an infraction be punished by a fine may also provide for the payment to be made within a specified time or in specified + See more installments.	Payment plan/installment plan	Traffic	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 1462.5	Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: Proration of fines, penalties, forfeitures, and fees	Each installment or partial payment of a fine, penalty, forfeiture or fee shall be prorated among the state and local shares according to the uniform accounting system established by the + See more State Controller pursuant to Section 71380 of the Government Code. In cases subject to Section 1463.18 of the Penal Code, proration shall not occur until the minimum amounts have been transferred to the Restitution Fund as provided in that section.	Payment plan/installment plan	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 1463.010(f)	Proceedings in Misdemeanor and Infraction Cases: Enforcement of court orders; Guidelines for collection program; Annual report; Business license suspension program; Amnesty	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Judicial Council, after consultation with the Franchise Tax Board with respect to collections under Section 19280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, may + See more provide for an amnesty program involving the collection of outstanding fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties, and assessments, applicable either statewide or within one or more counties. The amnesty program shall provide that some or all of the interest or collections costs imposed on outstanding fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties, and assessments may be waived if the remaining amounts due are paid within the amnesty period.	Collection fee/interest	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Rules of Court 4.435(b)	Sentencing on revocation of probation, mandatory supervision, and postrelease community supervision	(b) On revocation and termination of probation under section 1203.2, when the sentencing judge determines that the defendant will be committed to prison or county jail under section 1170(h):(1) If + See more the imposition of sentence was previously suspended, the judge must impose judgment and sentence after considering any findings previously made and hearing and determining the matters enumerated in rule 4.433(c).The length of the sentence must be based on circumstances existing at the time probation was granted, and subsequent events may not be considered in selecting the base term or in deciding whether to strike the additional punishment for enhancements charged and found.	Incarceration	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 273a(c)(3)(B)	Endangering child or causing or permitting child to suffer physical pain, mental suffering, or injury; Conditions of probation	(B) The terms of probation for offenders shall not be lifted until all reasonable fees due to the counseling program have been paid in full, but in no case shall + See more probation be extended beyond the term provided in subdivision (a) of Section 1203.1. If the court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay the fees based on the defendant’s changed circumstances, the court may reduce or waive the fees.	Condition or extension of supervision	Misdemeanor, Felony	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 1202.43(b)	Payment of restitution fine	(b) A restitution fine shall be deemed a debt of the defendant owing to the state for the purposes of Sections 12418 and 12419.5 of the Government Code, excepting any + See more amounts the defendant has paid to the victim as a result of the crime. Upon request by the Controller, the district attorney of a county or the Attorney General may take any necessary action to recover amounts owing on a restitution fine. The amount of the recovery shall be increased by a sum sufficient to cover any costs incurred by any state or local agency in the administration of this section. The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other remedies provided by law for the enforcement of a judgment.	Collection fee/interest	Misdemeanor, Felony	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	California	Cal. Pen. Code § 1205(b)	Judgment imposing fine; Imprisonment pending payment; Default; Fee for processing accounts receivable; Limitation	(b) Except as otherwise provided in case of fines imposed, as a condition of probation, the defendant shall pay the fine to the clerk of the court, or to the + See more judge if there is no clerk, unless the defendant is taken into custody for nonpayment of the fine, in which event payments made while he or she is in custody shall be made to the officer who holds the defendant in custody, and all amounts paid shall be paid over by the officer to the court that rendered the judgment. The clerk shall report to the court every default in payment of a fine or any part of that fine, or if there is no clerk, the court shall take notice of the default. If time has been given for payment of a fine or it has been made payable in installments, the court shall, upon any default in payment, immediately order the arrest of the defendant and order him or her to show cause why he or she should not be imprisoned until the fine or installment is satisfied in full. If the fine or installment is payable forthwith and it is not paid, the court shall, without further proceedings, immediately commit the defendant to the custody of the proper officer to be held in custody until the fine or installment is satisfied in full.	Incarceration	Misdemeanor, Felony	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 33-37-5-22 (b)	Applicability — Late Payment Fee — Requirement to Pay — Defendant Not Indigent	A court may adopt a local rule to impose a late payment fee under this section on defendants described in subsection (a).	Increased fine	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Ind. Code § 35-38-1-18 (d)(2)-(3)	Payment of Fines	(d) Upon any default in the payment of the fine:... (2) the court may direct that the person, if the person is not indigent, be committed to the county jail + See more and credited toward payment at the rate of twenty dollars ($20) for each twenty-four (24) hour period the person is confined, until the amount paid plus the amount credited equals the entire amount due; or (3) the court may institute contempt proceedings or order the convicted person’s wages, salary, and other income garnished in accordance with IC 24-4.5-5-105 to enforce the court’s order for payment of the fine.	Incarceration, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Ind. Code § 35-38-2-1.7 (d)	Payment of Probation User’s Fee — Lien — Garnishment	If a court orders a person to pay a probation user's fee under section 1 or 1.5 of this chapter, the court may garnish the wages, salary, and other income + See more earned by the person to enforce the order.	Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Ind. Code § 33-37-4-10	Itemized Fee Bills — Duty of Sheriff to Collect	(a) Not later than seventy-five (75) days after judgment is entered in an action, the clerk shall issue an itemized fee bill for the collection of fees that were charged + See more against the party in that action and that remain unpaid. The clerk shall present the fee bill for collection to the sheriff of a county in which the debtor party resides or in which the debtor party has property.(b) The sheriff shall do the following: (1) Collect the amount due under the fee bill. (2) Return the fee bill to the clerk not more than sixty (60) days after the day the fee bill was issued. (c) After presented to the sheriff, a fee bill has the effect of an execution and operates as a lien upon the real and personal property of the debtor. (d) A successor of an officer may issue fee bills for the fees of the officer's predecessors in office in the manner provided under this chapter. A clerk may issue the fee bills of the sheriff or the former sheriffs of the county in the same manner.	Property liens	All	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 9-30-11-3	Notice to Three - Time Violator	If it appears from the records of a court that has jurisdiction to enforce ordinances that regulate parking violations that three (3) judgments concerning a motor vehicle have not been + See more paid before the deadlines established by a statute, an ordinance, or a court order, the clerk of the court shall send a notice to the person who is the registered owner of the motor vehicle. The notice must inform the person of the following:(1) That the clerk will send a referral to the bureau if the judgments are not paid within thirty (30) days after a notice was mailed. (2) That the referral will result in the suspension of the motor vehicle's registration if the judgments are not paid.	Driver's license suspension/impoundment	Traffic	Yes
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 35-50-5-3 (b); (h)	Restitution Orders	(b) A restitution order under subsection (a), (i), (j), (l), or (m), is a judgment lien that:(1) attaches to the property of the person subject to the order; (2) may + See more be perfected; (3) may be enforced to satisfy any payment that is delinquent under the restitution order by the person in whose favor the order is issued or the person's assignee; and (4) expires; in the same manner as a judgment lien created in a civil proceeding ... (h) The attorney general may pursue restitution ordered by the court under subsections (a) and (c) on behalf of the victim services division of the Indiana criminal justice institute established under IC 5-2-6-8.	Civil judgment, Property liens	All	No
Add to Dashboard + Create New	Indiana	Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 35-33-8-3.3 (h) - (m)	Pretrial Services Fees	(i) A probation department or pretrial services agency may petition a court to: (1) impose a pretrial services fee on a defendant; or (2) increase a defendant’s pretrial services fee; if the financial + See more ability of the defendant to pay a pretrial services fee changes while the defendant is on bail and supervised by a probation officer or pretrial services agency. (j) An order to pay a pretrial services fee under this section: (1) is a judgment lien that, upon the defendant’s conviction (A) attaches to the property of the defendant; (B) may be perfected; (C) may be enforced to satisfy any payment that is delinquent under this section; and (D) expires; in the same manner as a judgment lien created in a civil proceeding; (2) is not discharged by the disposition of charges against the defendant or by the completion of a sentence, if any, imposed on the defendant; (3) is not discharged by the liquidation of a defendant’s estate by a receiver under IC 32-30-5; and (4) is immediately terminated if a defendant is acquitted or if charges against the defendant are dropped. (k) If a court orders a defendant to pay a pretrial services fee, the court may, upon the defendant’s conviction, enforce the order by garnishing the wages, salary, and other income earned by the defendant. (l) In addition to other methods of payment allowed by law, a probation department or pretrial services agency may accept payment of a pretrial services fee by credit card (as defined in IC 14-11-1-7(a)). The liability for payment is not discharged until the probation department or pretrial services agency receives payment or credit from the institution responsible for making the payment or credit. (m) The probation department or pretrial services agency may contract with a bank or credit card vendor for acceptance of a bank or credit card. However, if there is a vendor transaction charge or discount fee, whether billed to the probation department or pretrial services agency, or charged directly to the account of the probation department or pretrial services agency, the probation department or pretrial services agency may collect a credit card service fee from the person using the bank or credit card. The fee collected under this subsection is a permitted additional charge to the fee or fees the defendant may be required to pay under subsection (e).	Collection fee/interest, Increased fine, Property liens, Wage/bank account garnishment	All	No

Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap

Mandatory

Narrrow results

Level of Offense

Poverty Penalties and Poverty Traps

State

Keyword search

Reset

Type of poverty penalty or poverty trap

Mandatory

Narrrow results

Level of Offense