Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
 State of Arkansas
 93rd General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2021                                                             HOUSE BILL 1954
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 By: Representative Clowney
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                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN FEES, COSTS, AND OTHER
                EXPENSES IMPOSED ON JUVENILES OR THEIR PARENTS,
                GUARDIANS, OR CUSTODIANS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                               Subtitle
                         CONCERNING CERTAIN FEES, COSTS, AND OTHER
                         EXPENSES IMPOSED ON JUVENILES OR THEIR
                         PARENTS, GUARDIANS, OR CUSTODIANS.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.       Arkansas Code  6-18-222(a)(5)(A), concerning the penalty
 for unexcused absences and revocation of driving privileges, is amended to
 read as follows:
                (5)(A)     When a student exceeds the number of unexcused absences
 provided for in the district's or the Career Education and Workforce
 Development Board's student attendance policy, or when a student has violated
 the conditions of an agreement granting special arrangements under
 subdivision (a)(4)(D) of this section, the school district or the adult
 education program shall notify the prosecuting authority and the community
 truancy board, if a community truancy board has been created, and the
 student's parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis shall be subject to a
 civil penalty through a family in need of services action in circuit court,
 as authorized under subdivision (a)(6)(A) of this section, but not to exceed
 five hundred dollars ($500) plus costs of court and any reasonable fees
 assessed by the court.
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      SECTION 2.     Arkansas Code  9-27-303(33), concerning the definition of
 "juvenile" as applicable to the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended to
 read as follows:
            (33)    Juvenile means an individual who is:
                     (A)   From birth to eighteen (18) years of age, whether
 married or single; or
                     (B)   Adjudicated delinquent, a juvenile member of a family
 in need of services, or dependent or dependent-neglected by the juvenile
 division of circuit court prior to before attaining eighteen (18) years of
 age and for whom the juvenile division of circuit court retains jurisdiction;
 or
                     (C)   Both of the following:
                           (i)    Under eighteen (18) years of age; and
                           (ii)   Under the jurisdiction of the criminal division
 of circuit court or the juvenile division of circuit court jurisdiction under
 this subchapter;
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      SECTION 3.     Arkansas Code  9-27-316(b), concerning the right to
 counsel under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended to read as
 follows:
      (b)(1)(A)     The inquiry concerning the ability of the juvenile to retain
 counsel shall include a consideration of the juvenile's financial resources
 and the financial resources of his or her family A juvenile shall be presumed
 indigent regardless of the resources of the parent, guardian, or custodian of
 the juvenile.
                     (B)   However, the The failure of the juvenile's family to
 retain counsel for the juvenile shall not deprive the juvenile of the right
 to appointed court-appointed counsel if required under this section.
            (2)     After review by the court of an affidavit of financial means
 completed and verified by the parent of the juvenile and a determination by
 the court that the parent or juvenile has the ability to pay, the The court
 may shall not order financially able juveniles, parents, guardians, or
 custodians a juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile
 to pay all or part of reasonable attorney's fees and expenses for
 representation of a the juvenile.
            (3)     All moneys collected by the circuit clerk under this
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 subsection shall be retained by the clerk and deposited into a special fund
 to be known as the juvenile representation fund The court shall not order a
 juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile to pay a fee
 related to the cost of providing the juvenile with counsel.
               (4)   The court may direct that money from this fund be used in
 providing counsel for juveniles under this section in delinquency or family-
 in-need-of-services cases and indigent parents or guardians in dependency-
 neglect cases as provided by subsection (h) of this section.
               (5)   Any money remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal
 year shall not revert to any other fund but shall carry over into the next
 fiscal year in the juvenile representation fund.
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      SECTION 4.      Arkansas Code  9-27-316(f)(1) and (2), concerning the
 right to counsel under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, are amended to
 read as follows:
      (f)(1)     The court shall appoint, at no cost to the juvenile or the
 parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile, an attorney ad litem who
 shall meet standards and qualifications established by the Supreme Court to
 represent the best interest of the juvenile when a dependency-neglect
 petition is filed or when an emergency ex parte order is entered in a
 dependency-neglect case, whichever occurs earlier.
               (2)   The court may appoint, at no cost to the juvenile or the
 parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile, an attorney ad litem to
 represent the best interest of a juvenile involved in any case before the
 court and shall consider the juvenile's best interest of the juvenile in
 determining whether to appoint an attorney ad litem.
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      SECTION 5.      Arkansas Code  9-27-316(g)(1), concerning the right to
 counsel under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended to read as
 follows:
      (g)(1)     The court may appoint, at no cost to the juvenile or the
 parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile, a volunteer court-appointed
 special advocate from a program that shall meet all meets the state and
 national court-appointed special advocate standards to advocate for the best
 interest of juveniles in dependency-neglect proceedings.
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      SECTION 6.      Arkansas Code  9-27-323(d)(2), concerning diversion
 agreements, conditions applicable to diversion agreements, and the completion
 of diversion agreements under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended
 to read as follows:
               (2)   A At no cost to the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or
 custodian of the juvenile, a copy of the diversion agreement shall be given
 to the juvenile, the counsel for the juvenile, the parent, guardian, or
 custodian of the juvenile, and the intake officer, who shall retain the copy
 of the diversion agreement in the case file.
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      SECTION 7.      Arkansas Code  9-27-323(f) and (g), concerning diversion
 agreements, conditions applicable to diversion agreements, and the completion
 of diversion agreements under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, are amended
 to read as follows:
      (f)(1)     If a diversion of a complaint has been made, a petition based
 upon the events out of which the original complaint arose may be filed at no
 cost to the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile
 and only during the period for which the agreement was entered into.
               (2)   If a petition is filed within this period, the juvenile's
 compliance with all proper and reasonable terms of the agreement shall be
 grounds for dismissal of the petition by the court.
      (g)   The diversion agreement may be terminated, and the prosecuting
 attorney in a delinquency case or the petitioner in a family in need of
 services case may file a petition, at no cost to the juvenile or the parent,
 guardian, or custodian of the juvenile, if at any time during the agreement
 period:
               (1)   The juvenile or his or her parent, guardian, or custodian
 declines to further participate in the diversion process;
               (2)   The juvenile fails, without reasonable excuse, to attend a
 scheduled conference;
               (3)   The juvenile appears unable or unwilling to benefit from the
 diversion process; or
               (4)   The intake officer becomes apprised of new or additional
 information that indicates that further efforts at diversion would not be in
 the best interests of the juvenile or society.
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      SECTION 8.      Arkansas Code  9-27-323(h)(3), concerning diversion
 agreements, conditions applicable to diversion agreements, and the completion
 of diversion agreements under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended
 to read as follows:
               (3)   The complaint and the diversion agreement, and all
 references thereto to the complaint and the diversion agreement, may shall be
 expunged by the court from the juvenile's file at no cost to the juvenile or
 the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile.
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      SECTION 9.      Arkansas Code  9-27-323(i)-(k), concerning diversion
 agreements, conditions applicable to diversion agreements, and the completion
 of diversion agreements under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, are amended
 to read as follows:
      (i)(1)(i)      A juvenile intake or probation officer may charge a
 diversion fee only after review of an affidavit of financial means and a
 determination of the juvenile's or the juvenile's parent's, guardian's, or
 custodian's ability to pay the fee A juvenile or the parent, guardian, or
 custodian of a juvenile shall not be charged a diversion fee.
               (2)   The diversion fee shall not exceed twenty dollars ($20.00)
 per month to the juvenile division of circuit court.
               (3)   The court may direct that the fees be collected by the
 juvenile officer, sheriff, or court clerk for the county in which the fees
 are charged.
               (4)   The officer designated by the court to collect diversion
 fees shall maintain receipts and account for all incoming fees and shall
 deposit the fees at least weekly into the county treasury of the county where
 the fees are collected and in which diversion services are provided.
               (5)   The diversion fees shall be deposited into the account with
 the juvenile service fees under  16-13-326.
      (j)(1)     In judicial districts having more than one (1) county, the
 judge may designate the treasurer of one (1) of the counties in the district
 as the depository of all juvenile fees collected in the district.
               (2)   The treasurer so designated by the court shall maintain a
 separate account of the juvenile fees collected and expended in each county
 in the district.
               (3)   Money remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall not
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 revert to any other fund but shall carry over to the next fiscal year.
              (4)   The funds derived from the collection of diversion fees
 shall be used by agreement of the judge or judges of the circuit court
 designated to hear juvenile cases in their district plan pursuant to Supreme
 Court Administrative Order No. 14, originally issued April 6, 2001, and the
 quorum court of the county to provide services and supplies to juveniles at
 the discretion of the juvenile division of circuit court.
        (k)(1)(j)(1)    The Department of Human Services shall develop a
 statewide referral protocol for helping to coordinate the delivery of
 services to sexually exploited children.
              (2)   As used in this section, sexually exploited child means a
 person less than eighteen (18) years of age who has been subject subjected to
 sexual exploitation because the person:
                      (A)   Is a victim of trafficking of persons under  5-18-
 103;
                      (B)   Is a victim of child sex trafficking under 18 U.S.C. 
 1591, as it existed on January 1, 2013; or
                      (C)   Engages in an act of prostitution under  5-70-102 or
 sexual solicitation under  5-70-103.
        (k)   The diversion of a case under this section shall be implemented
 and administered at no cost to the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or
 custodian of the juvenile.
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        SECTION 10.    Arkansas Code  9-27-330(a)(1)(B)(vi)(f)(2), concerning
 juvenile delinquency dispositions and alternatives under the Arkansas
 Juvenile Code of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
                                        (2)   A copy of the written treatment plan
 shall be provided at no cost to the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or
 custodian of the juvenile and shall be explained to the juvenile.
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        SECTION 11.    Arkansas Code  9-27-330(a)(2), concerning juvenile
 delinquency dispositions and alternatives, is amended to read as follows:
              (2)   Order the juvenile or members of the juvenile's family to
 submit to physical, psychiatric, or psychological evaluations at no cost to
 the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile;
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      SECTION 12.     Arkansas Code  9-27-330(a)(5)-(15), concerning juvenile
 delinquency dispositions and alternatives, are amended to read as follows:
            (5)     Order a probation fee, not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00)
 per month, as provided in  16-13-326(a);
            (6)     Assess a court cost of no more than thirty-five dollars
 ($35.00) to be paid by the juvenile, his or her parent, both parents, or his
 or her guardian;
            (7)(A)(5)(A)      Order restitution to be paid by the juvenile, a
 parent, both parents, the guardian, or his or her custodian or the parent,
 guardian, or custodian of the juvenile.
                     (B)   If the custodian is the State of Arkansas, both
 liability and the amount that may be assessed shall be determined by the
 Arkansas State Claims Commission;
            (8)(6)     Order a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500)
 to be paid by the juvenile, a parent, both parents, or the guardian or the
 parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile;
            (9)(7)(A)      Order that the juvenile and his or her parent, both
 parents, or the guardian the parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile
 to perform court-approved volunteer service in the community designed to
 contribute to the rehabilitation of the juvenile or to the ability of the
 parent or guardian parent, guardian, or custodian of the juvenile to provide
 proper parental care and supervision of the juvenile, not to exceed.
                     (B)   The juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of
 the juvenile shall not be required to:
                           (i)     Participate in volunteer service in the
 community for more than one hundred sixty (160) hours;
                           (ii)    Participate in volunteer service in the
 community if participating in the volunteer service would cause an undue
 hardship for the juvenile or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the
 juvenile; or
                           (iii)    Pay a cost for participating in the volunteer
 service in the community;
            (10)(A)(8)(A)        Order that the parent, both parents, or the
 guardian, or custodian of the juvenile attend a court-approved parental
 responsibility training program if available.
                     (B)   The court may make reasonable orders requiring proof
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 of completion of the court-approved parental responsibility training program
 within a certain time period and payment of a fee covering the cost of the
 training program.
                     (C)   The court may provide that any violation of such
 orders shall subject the parent, both parents, or the guardian to the
 contempt sanctions of the court The parent, guardian, or custodian of the
 juvenile shall not be required to:
                              (i)    Attend the court-approved parental
 responsibility training program if attending