Increases amount of credit for incarceration resulting from default of court-imposed financial obligation or motor vehicle penalty.
Impact
This adjustment has significant implications for the state’s legal framework concerning financial penalties linked to court decisions. By increasing the daily credit, the bill aims to alleviate some of the financial burden on individuals who find themselves in default due to incarceration. It recognizes the need for a more humane approach to penalization, which could also influence how lower-income individuals are treated under existing financial obligation systems. This legislative change advocates for a system that not only penalizes but also acknowledges the potential financial consequences of incarceration.
Summary
Assembly Bill A164 seeks to amend New Jersey statutes related to court-imposed financial obligations, specifically increasing the credit that a person can receive while incarcerated for failing to meet these obligations. Currently, if an individual defaults on such financial obligations, the court can grant a credit of at least $50 for each day of confinement. The new bill proposes to raise this amount to $90 for each day that a person is incarcerated, which aligns with recommendations from judicial reviews aimed at reforming municipal court practices regarding fines and fees.
Contention
While the proposed changes have garnered support from various legislators who emphasize the importance of adjusting financial penalties to reflect the realities of incarceration, there may be concerns regarding its implementation. Critics might argue that increasing the daily credit could incentivize individuals to misuse the judicial system as a means of reducing financial burden. Additionally, there are questions about how municipalities will manage the financial implications of potentially increased defaults stemming from these amended regulations.
Eliminates court surcharges and fees and probation and parole surcharges and fees; eliminates the requirement that a parolee or releasee receiving a merit termination of sentence be financially able to comply with an order of restitution; eliminates the requirement that a person receiving a discharge of sentence be financially able to comply with an order of restitution and the payment of certain surcharges or fees (Part A); prohibits mandatory minimum fines for penal law and vehicle and traffic offenses (Part B); mandates that courts engage in an individualized assessment of a person's financial ability to pay a fine prior to imposing a fine (Part C); eliminates the availability of incarceration as a remedy for a failure to pay a fine, surcharge, or fee, lifts and vacates existing warrants issued solely on a person's failure to timely pay a fine, surcharge or fee and ends existing sentences of incarceration based on such failure (Part D); vacates existing unsatisfied civil judgments based on a person's failure to timely pay a surcharge, or fee (Part E); prohibits the collection of a fine, restitution or reparation from the funds of an incarcerated person; prohibits the payment of court fines, mandatory surcharges, certain fees, restitution, reparation or forfeitures from the earnings of prisoners (Part F); vacates existing unpaid surcharges, DNA databank fees, crime victim assistance fees, sexual offender registration fees, supplemental sex offender victim fees, or probation or parole supervision fees; repeals certain provisions of law relating to restrictions on remitting such fees (Part G).