Taxation by Citation: A 50-State Data and Policy Report on Local Government Fines and Forfeitures
41 cities collected over $500 per capita in fines and fees—Linndale, Ohio collected the most with $8,885 per resident.
Fiscal incentives can create conflicts of interest when cities, police departments and court systems become reliant on fine and forfeitures to fund their basic operations. This report uses the 2022 Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and audited financial statements for 8,054 cities and 2,478 counties in FY 2023 to determine the amount of money generated through fines and forfeitures, the share of of general revenue it makes up, and the per capita amount collected. The report is paired with data visualization tools that allow viewers to explore state and local level analyses of local fines and forfeitures data. The report concludes with policy recommendations to reduce the abuse of fines and forfeitures.
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Key Findings:
- Census Bureau data from FY 2022:
- Local governments across the 50 states collected $8.3 billion in fines and forfeitures.
- Arkansas, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, and Georgia lead all states in the share of local general revenue derived from fines and forfeitures, each exceeding 0.65 percent.
- On a per capita basis, New York collects the most of any state, $75.81 per resident—the national average was $24.77 per resident.
- Audited financial statements from FY 2023:
- Local governments reported a combined total of $5.5B in fines and forfeitures.
- “The 42 cities that collect more than 50 cents in fines for every dollar of general revenue are concentrated almost entirely in the South and South-Central United States, with the densest cluster in Louisiana.”
- Small jurisdictions with limited tax bases are more likely to be heavily reliant on fine and forfeiture revenue.
Recommendations:
- To target fiscal incentives, adopt comprehensive revenue caps on all fine and forfeiture revenue derived from the local criminal and civil justice system.
- Strengthen and enforce quota bans by adopting the most expansive definitions of prohibited quotas, covering citations, arrests, and investigative stops and prohibiting use of citation data in performance evaluations.
- To reduce conflicts of interest, eliminate municipal courts in jurisdictions in small jurisdictions and require that violations be adjudicated in county or regional courts.
- Mandate comprehensive data collection and reporting from local jurisdictions on how much revenue they collect, from whom, and at what cost.
- Fully fund court systems from general revenue sources.