Criminal fees.

(1) Existing law imposes various fees contingent upon a criminal arrest, prosecution, or conviction for the cost of administering the criminal justice system, including administering probation and mandatory supervision, processing arrests and citations, and administering home detention programs, continuous electronic monitoring programs, work furlough programs, and work release programs. This bill would repeal the authority to collect many of these fees, among others. The bill would make the unpaid balance of these court-imposed costs unenforceable and uncollectible and would require any portion of a judgment imposing those costs to be vacated. (2) Existing law allows the board of supervisors of any county to establish the office of the public defender and requires the public defender to defend, without expense to the defendant, any person who is not financially able to employ counsel and who is charged with the commission of a crime. Existing law allows the court to hold a hearing to determine whether a defendant owns an interest in real property or other assets and to impose a lien on the property. Upon conclusion of trial, existing law allows the court to make a determination of a defendant's present ability to pay all or a portion of the cost of the public defender. If the court finds that the defendant has the financial ability to pay, existing law requires the court to order the defendant to pay all or a part of the costs the court believes reasonable and compatible with the defendant's financial ability. This bill would delete the authority of the court to impose liens on the defendant's property and make a post-trial determination of the defendant's ability to pay and to order the defendant to pay the costs of the public defender. By requiring a county to provide a public defender without charge to a defendant who may have the ability to pay, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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 the statutory provisions noted above. (4) The bill would appropriate $50,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Finance to begin to implement the provisions of this bill, and would annually appropriate $65,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller beginning in the 2021–22 fiscal year to the 2025–26 fiscal year, inclusive, for allocation to counties to backfill revenues lost from the repeal of fees specified in this bill, as provided, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to pursue legislation with the Budget Act of 2021 to finalize the funding allocation methodology for distribution to counties. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.