California SB 144: Criminal fees.
This bill repeals the authority to collect certain criminal administrative fees including fees for public defenders, booking, mandatory drug testing and costs related to incarceration and probation supervision.
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Virginia Senate Bill 1013: Relating to suspension of driver’s license for nonpayment of fines or costs.
This bill, which did not pass, would have ended driver's license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees in Virginia.
It’s All About The Money: An Exploration of Probation Fees
Texas relies on supervision fees from probationers to recuperate operating costs for their probation program; failure to pay can result in additional sanctions and ultimately, revocations. This study used focus …
Prison Phone Justice: Intrastate Collect Prison Phone Rates [Map]
The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice maintains a website tracking the cost of phone calls from prisons in all U.S. states as well as the sum of kickbacks that families of incarcerated people have paid to relevant corrections agencies nationwide.
Report of Statewide Collection of Court-Ordered Debt for 2017-18
This report profiles the collection of unpaid court-ordered fines and fees during the 2017-18 fiscal year in California.
Stopping the Debt Spiral
This report shares the results of a survey of 304 low-income Illinois residents who were asked about their experience with debt, including criminal justice debt. Respondents disclosed the types of debt they had, the number of debts they owed, and the emotional toll debt takes on their families.
Stinnie v. Holcomb
This case challenges the constitutionality of a Virginia statute that requires the automatic suspension of the driver’s licenses of people who fail to pay court fines and fees.
Personal Narrative: Khalid
Khalid never received notice of fines and fees that led to his driver's license being suspended. He lost a job offer because he had no license.
Personal Narrative: Graciela
Graciela is a 76-year-old caregiver who takes three different buses for five hours to get to work each day. She receives Supplemental Security Income. Her license was suspended because of unpaid Driver’s Responsibility Program (DRP) surcharges.
Kavadas et al. v. Martinez et al.
In New Jersey, driver’s licenses were automatically suspended when bench warrants were issued to non-custodial parents for nonpayment of child support.