SB 1124

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law authorizes the court in a criminal case to make a determination of a defendant's ability to pay all or a portion of the reasonable costs of imprisonment if the defendant is convicted of an offense and ordered to serve a period of imprisonment in the state prison. Existing law authorizes the court, in its discretion before any hearing, to order the defendant to file a statement setting forth his or her assets, liability, and income under penalty of perjury. If the court determines that the defendant has the ability to pay all or a portion of the costs, existing law requires the court to set the amount to be reimbursed and order the defendant to pay that sum to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in the manner in which the court believes reasonable and compatible with the defendant's financial ability, for deposit in the General Fund in the State Treasury. This bill would require the court to make a determination of the ability of a defendant to pay all or a portion of the reasonable costs of imprisonment in a state prison or a county jail, and would require the court to order the defendant to file a statement setting forth his or her assets, liability, and income before a hearing on the matter. The bill would further require a person sentenced to a county jail to pay the reasonable cost of imprisonment in the county jail, not to exceed the amount determined by the board of supervisors to be the actual average cost of imprisonment in the county jail, and would require payments for local incarceration costs to be made to the sheriff for deposit in the county general fund. By imposing additional duties on county prosecutors, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.