HF 3981

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to judiciary finance; requesting a study of 
  1.3             and report on court fines, fees, and surcharges. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [STUDY OF COURT-IMPOSED FINES, FEES, AND 
  1.6   SURCHARGES.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [WORK GROUP; MEMBERSHIP.] The state court 
  1.8   administrator is requested to establish a work group to study 
  1.9   and make recommendations to improve the current system of fines, 
  1.10  fees, and surcharges imposed by the courts.  The work group 
  1.11  shall represent entities that impose, collect, or receive 
  1.12  proceeds from court fines, fees, and surcharges and shall 
  1.13  include at least one representative from the following: 
  1.14     (1) district courts; 
  1.15     (2) victims programs; 
  1.16     (3) city and county prosecuting authorities; 
  1.17     (4) district court administrators; 
  1.18     (5) drug abuse prevention programs; 
  1.19     (6) peace officers; 
  1.20     (7) department of natural resources; 
  1.21     (8) school districts; 
  1.22     (9) prostitution outreach programs; 
  1.23     (10) state troopers; 
  1.24     (11) emergency medical services; 
  2.1      (12) department of transportation; 
  2.2      (13) sentencing guidelines commission; 
  2.3      (14) legislature; 
  2.4      (15) public defenders; 
  2.5      (16) legal aid providers; and 
  2.6      (17) corrections. 
  2.7      The state court administrator may appoint other members as 
  2.8   necessary and shall ensure that the work group represents both 
  2.9   rural and metropolitan areas. 
  2.10     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES OF WORK GROUP.] The work group shall 
  2.11  study and make recommendations for improvement in the following 
  2.12  areas: 
  2.13     (1) the purpose and need for a separate systems of fines, 
  2.14  fees, and surcharges, considering specifically the current 
  2.15  purposes of generating revenue, punishing wrongdoing, and 
  2.16  funding special programs.  The work group shall give special 
  2.17  consideration to how the imposition of fines, fees, and 
  2.18  surcharges for these purposes impacts victim restitution and 
  2.19  reparations; 
  2.20     (2) methods to track the imposition and collection of fines 
  2.21  and fees including (a) a centralized tracking system, (b) 
  2.22  modifying the sentencing guidelines worksheet to include all 
  2.23  crimes and fines, and (c) sources for collection services 
  2.24  including the use of existing services such as county child 
  2.25  support collections and Minnesota collection enterprises; 
  2.26     (3) the impact of fragmented revenue distribution on 
  2.27  tracking, imposition, and collection, including the effect a 
  2.28  simplified or flat fee may have on revenue and tracking and any 
  2.29  policy implications of simplifying the system; 
  2.30     (4) the impact of the state takeover of court costs and any 
  2.31  opportunity to simplify the system of fines, fees, and 
  2.32  surcharges or provide for a centralized revenue collection 
  2.33  system; and 
  2.34     (5) other issues the work group considers necessary. 
  2.35     Subd. 3.  [REPORT REQUIRED.] By January 15, 2001, the state 
  2.36  court administrator is requested to submit a report to the 
  3.1   chairs and ranking minority members of the house and senate 
  3.2   committees and divisions with jurisdiction over judiciary 
  3.3   finance, civil law policy, and criminal law policy.  The report 
  3.4   shall be based on the study of the work group and shall contain 
  3.5   detailed findings and recommendations, including proposed 
  3.6   legislative changes for improving the current system of fines, 
  3.7   fees, and surcharges.