This bill proposes several significant updates to current statutes regarding court fees and assessments. Under the new law, courts would be prohibited from charging any assessments related to the appointment of public defenders, including indigent administrative assessments, and would not be allowed to require defendants to reimburse the county for legal services. Additionally, the bill explicitly forbids the imposition of jury fees in criminal cases and mandates that the costs of certified copies of appeal records or transcripts be charged to the county, rather than the defendant. The bill also restricts the supreme court from adopting any new fees that are not specifically authorized by statute.

Furthermore, the bill removes the requirement for adult probation officers to inquire about a convicted person's ability to contribute to legal defense costs and eliminates the directive for the court to consider a defendant's financial resources when determining payment amounts. It also makes technical and conforming changes to existing statutes to align with these new provisions. Overall, the bill aims to reduce financial burdens on defendants and ensure that public defense services remain free of charge.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 11-584, 12-115, 12-253, 12-306, 12-332, 13-4034, 22-371, 36-3704, 8-221, 14-5414, 35-146, 35-147, 21-222, 35-313, 12-302, 12-304, 13-3994