Florida Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Florida SB 734: Penalties and fees; driver’s license suspensions

The bill provides that driver’s licenses may not be suspended for failure to pay fines and fees unless the person has the ability to pay but refuses to do so. It also provides that courts must provide alternatives to immediate payment of fines and fees for people who are indigent, such as payment plans and community service.

Speed Trap or Poverty Trap? Fines, Fees, and Financial Wellbeing

Steven Mello’s research paper investigates the effects of traffic fines on financial wellbeing by studying the correlation between Florida traffic citation records (between 2011 and 2015) and credit reports and payroll data of ticketed drivers.

Changing Course: Driver’s License Suspension in Florida

This policy brief explains some of the justifications for Florida’s practice of suspending driver’s licenses and explores the consequences of that practice—driver’s license suspension disproportionately burdens low-income individuals and has …

Unequal Treatment: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Miami-Dade Criminal Justice

This report discusses the racial and ethnic disparities that exist in the Miami-Dade County criminal justice system.

“Set up to Fail”: The Impact of Offender-Funded Private Probation on the Poor

The author conducted qualitative research to assess the effect of private probation on people under parole supervision for misdemeanor offenses in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. In some of these states, private parole officers have the authority to control critical aspects of a person’s parole terms.

Florida SB 1270: Penalties And Fees… prohibiting the suspension of a person’s driver license solely for failure to pay certain financial obligations…

This 2018 bill - which did not pass - marks the third consecutive year that Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) introduced legislation to end driver’s license suspension for nonpayment of fines and fees in Florida. This bill would also have required courts to provide reasonable payment alternatives for poor defendants, including payment plans and performing community service to pay fines.

Florida SB 734: Penalties and fees; driver’s license suspensions

Speed Trap or Poverty Trap? Fines, Fees, and Financial Wellbeing

Changing Course: Driver’s License Suspension in Florida

Unequal Treatment: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Miami-Dade Criminal Justice

“Set up to Fail”: The Impact of Offender-Funded Private Probation on the Poor

Florida SB 1270: Penalties And Fees… prohibiting the suspension of a person’s driver license solely for failure to pay certain financial obligations…

Thompson v. State of Florida

Orange clerk slashing surcharge imposed by collection companies

Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families

Set Up for Failure? Examining the Influence of Monetary Sanctions on Probation Success