LFO bill passes the Senate

HB 1783 changes how legal financial obligations (LFOs) are imposed on a convicted defendant.

The bill does the following:

• Interest: Eliminates interest accrual on the non-restitution portion of an offender’s LFOs. Standards for the reduction or waiver of interest on LFOs are also revised.
• Exempts indigent defendants: A court may not impose costs on an offender who is indigent at the time of sentencing.
• Payment Priority: An offender’s LFO payment must be applied in a specific order. The requirement that costs of incarceration be paid last is removed. The payment priority applies to cases in all lower courts.
• Enforcement: An offender cannot be sanctioned for failure to pay LFOs unless the failure to pay is willful; establishes standards for what constitutes willful failure to pay. Willful failure does not arise if the offender is indigent, homeless, or mentally ill.
• Crime victim and witness fund: One hundred percent of the crime victim penalty assessment must be deposited into a fund for crime victim and witness programs.
• DNA fee: DNA database fee is not mandatory if the offender’s DNA has been collected from a prior conviction.

HB 1783 passed out of the Senate, but in a different version than was passed in the House. Once an agreed-upon version is passed, it will be sent to the Governor for his signature.