The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.
When Nevada legislators changed most minor traffic charges to civil infractions, they clearly didn’t want people incarcerated for failing to pay a ticket. Instead, the law said those whose court costs were in arrears should be sent to collections.
Even that would end up being limited under a bill introduced just before the session began on Feb. 3 that would limit judges’ ability to collect fines and fees.
The Nevada Legislature, which meets for 120 days every two years, opened last week.
Senate Bill 120, introduced on Jan. 28 by Sen. Melanie Schleible, D-Las Vegas, would require judges to offer a payment plan for fines and fees. The bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
While some fines are discretionary to judges, administrative fees are required by state law.
The bill would have its largest impact on the justice courts in Douglas County, according to Chief Financial Offer Kathy Lewis.
East Fork Justice Court collected $754,278 during the 2023-24 fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2024. Tahoe Township Justice Court collected $340,033 during the same year. The two departments of Douglas County District Court collected $48,692.
The bill expressly exempts restitution.
According to the bill, judges would have to notify a defendant “before collecting any such fine, administrative assessment, fee or other monetary penalty.”
It would also require the court to allow someone a payment plan that includes any other financial penalties.
Under the proposed law, monthly payments couldn’t exceed 2 percent of a defendant’s gross monthly income or $10, depending on which is more.
Anyone who is incarcerated as the result of a sentence would have at least six months after they are released to begin payments.
People who submit 12 payments on time in 15 months could have whatever’s left written off. Anyone who fails to make those payments would have to receive written notification, including how to make up the payments.
The bill would prevent the courts from accelerating a payment schedule, impose any charges for late payment or collections, or contract with a collection agency unless the court finds they have the ability to pay and are willfully avoiding payment.
It also prevents courts from ordering defendants to pay for an attorney they receive due to indigency.