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H0128................................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT - Amends existing law relating to prisoner
reimbursement to counties to remove language providing for the filing of a
civil action by a court in the small claims department of the magistrate's
division.
02/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/09 Rpt prt - to Jud
02/14 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/15 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/19 3rd rdg - PASSED - 69-0-1
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black,
Block, Bock, Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez, Chew,
Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Edmunson, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart,
Harwood, Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador,
Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin,
Mortimer, Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence,
Raybould, Ring, Ringo, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2),
Shepherd(8), Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass,
Stevenson, Thayn, Trail, Vander Woude, Wills, Wood(27), Wood(35), Mr.
Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Roberts
Floor Sponsor - Ring
Title apvd - to Senate
02/20 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Jud
03/05 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/06 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/09 3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
Cameron, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes,
Goedde, Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst,
Little, Lodge, Malepeai, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Schroeder, Siddoway, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Hill
Title apvd - to House
03/12 To enrol
03/13 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/14 Pres signed - To Governor
03/15 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 85
Effective: 07/01/07
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 128
BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT TO COUNTIES; AMENDING SECTION 20-607, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO REMOVE LANGUAGE PROVIDING FOR THE FILING OF A CIVIL ACTION BY A
4 COUNTY IN THE SMALL CLAIMS DEPARTMENT OF THE MAGISTRATE'S DIVISION.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 20-607, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 20-607. PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT TO THE COUNTY. (1) The county sheriff
9 shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation
10 to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as
11 follows:
12 (a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five
13 dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up
14 to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the
15 entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail, includ-
16 ing any period of pretrial detention;
17 (b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect pay-
18 ments under this section;
19 (c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may investi-
20 gate the financial status of the person.
21 (d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a
22 daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and
23 shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred.
24 (2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff
25 shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of pris-
26 oners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of the
27 prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and ages
28 of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of real and
29 personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank accounts, pen-
30 sions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property of significant
31 cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating the financial
32 status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement.
33 (3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information
34 and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying subsec-
35 tion (2) of this section.
36 (b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or
37 cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not
38 receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621, Idaho Code.
39 (4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of
40 the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each sen-
41 tenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission.
42 (5) (a) Within one (1) year of the release of a person as a sentenced
43 prisoner from any county jail, a representative for that county may file a
2
1 civil action in the small claims department of the magistrate's division
2 pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23, title 1, Idaho Code, to seek
3 reimbursement from that person for the cost of incarceration. A civil
4 action may be filed only after determining from the financial status form,
5 as required in subsection (2) of this section, that sufficient assets are
6 available to justify further recovery efforts and that further action to
7 collect the daily expense for maintaining the sentenced person by the
8 county will not cause the sentenced person or his dependents to qualify
9 for public assistance.
10 (b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the
11 name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates
12 and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the
13 length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the
14 county pursuant to this section.
15 (c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the defend-
16 ant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the
17 defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or provide
18 victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom
19 the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support.
20 (6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to
21 the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for
22 jail maintenance and operation purposes.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16808
The purpose of this bill is to delete reference in
current law pertaining to mandatory filing of an action
seeking prisoner reimbursement in small claims court. By
deleting the proposed language in Idaho Code 20-607, small
claims court will still be available to the county, but the
county will also have the option to seek defaults, judgments
or stipulated settlements in the magistrate's division of the
district court.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no impact on the general fund of the state
as a result of this bill.
CONTACT: Michael J. Kane, Idaho Sheriffs Association
Phone: 342-4545
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 128