End all fees, prevent new fees, and discharge their associated debt.

FFJC is committed to the elimination of all fees in criminal, juvenile, traffic, and ordinance violation cases and other criminal justice agencies.

Fees are hidden taxes imposed on every point of contact with the justice system. People who can’t afford these fees — which often total thousands of dollars — are subjected to punishments that trap them in a cycle of debt and additional sanctions that may include incarceration, extended court supervision, drivers’ licenses suspension, and more unpayable fees.

Faced with this drastic financial burden – which disproportionately impacts low-income people and Black and brown communities – millions of families must forgo basic necessities, like food, shelter, transportation, and medical care in order to stave off these ever-mounting penalties.

Indeed, relying on revenue from fees creates a perverse incentive in which governments need people to break the law in order to balance their budgets. That is not good public safety policy.

Although fees are touted as a way to make money and to balance budgets, because they are largely imposed on those with the fewest financial resources, they are notoriously hard and expensive to collect The reality is that government reliance on revenue from fees is unsustainable and counterproductive fiscal policy that also places enormous financial pressure on struggling families.