Step One to an Antiracist State Revenue Policy: Eliminate Criminal Justice Fees and Reform Fines
End Notes
[1] Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Who Pays? 6th edition, https://itep.org/whopays/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] For instance, supermajority requirements for tax increases and property tax limits both trace their origins to explicit post-Reconstruction efforts by wealthy white landowners to disenfranchise states’ Black residents. See Michael Leachman et al., “Advancing Racial Equity With State Tax policy,” CBPP, November 15, 2018, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/advancing-racial-equity-with-state-tax-policy.
[4] Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, 1989.
[5] Douglas Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, January 13, 2009.
[6] Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, January 16, 2012.
[7] Data on prisoners from Roy Walmsley, World Prison Population List, 12th edition, Institute for Criminal Policy Research, https://www.prisonstudies.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/wppl_12.pdf. Data on population from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. and World Population Clock, at https://www.census.gov/popclock/world.
[8] Melva Robertson, “Lifetime incarceration rate of black men without high school diplomas highlights need for better-informed health interventions,” Woodruff Health Sciences Center, November 2, 2018, https://news.emory.edu/stories/2018/11/lifetime_incarceration_rate_black_men/index.html.
[9] Chris Mai, “The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Virginia,” Vera Institute of Justice, June 2021, the-high-price-of-using-justice-fines-and-fees-virginia.pdf.
[10] Katherine A. Beckett, Alexes M. Harris, and Heather Evans, “The Assessment and Consequences of Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State,” Washington State Minority and Justice Commission, August 2008, https://www.courts.wa.gov/committee/pdf/2008LFO_report.pdf.
[11] Lisa Foster, “A Brief History of Fines and Fees,” Fines and Fees Justice Center webinar, March 19, 2021.
[12] Joseph Shapiro, “Unpaid Court Fees Land The Poor In 21st Century Debtors’ Prisons,” National Public Radio, May 20, 2014; Shapiro, “As Court Fees Rise, The Poor Are Paying The Price,” NPR, May 19, 2014, https://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/312158516/increasing-court-fees-punish-the-poor.
[13] Council of Economic Advisors Issue Brief, “Fees, Fines, and Bail: Payments in the Criminal Justice System that Disproportionately Impact the Poor,” December 2015, p. 3, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/1215_cea_fine_fee_bail_issue_brief.pdf. See also Karen Dolan and Jodi L. Carr, “The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty,” Institute for Policy Studies, March 18, 2015, p. 10, www.ips-dc.org/the-poor-get-prison-the-alarming-spread-of-the-criminalization-of-poverty/.
[14] See Vanessa Williamson, Theda Skocpol, and John Coggin, “The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 9, No. 1 (March 2011), https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/williamson/files/tea_party_pop.pdf. Rhetorical attacks and political organizing in opposition to taxes, particularly those seen as supporting services for Black people and other people of color, have a long history in the U.S. See for example, Camille Walsh, Racial Taxation: Schools, Segregation, and Taxpayer Citizenship, 1869-1973, University of North Carolina Press, 2018.
[15] Chris Mai and Maria Rafael, “The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in New York,” Vera Institute of Justice, December 2020, https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-high-price-of-using-justice-fines-and-fees-new-york.pdf.
[16] For example, the state imposes a victim penalty assessment that is $250 for misdemeanor convictions and $500 for felony convictions, regardless of the nature of the offense. Washington also imposes other mandatory fees that do vary based on the nature of the offense. See Maria Rafael, “The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Washington State,” Vera Institute for Justice, June 2021, p. 2., https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-high-price-of-using-justice-fines-and-fees-washington.pdf.
[17] Sarah Burger et al., “New York Should Re-examine Mandatory Court Fees Imposed on Individuals Convicted of Criminal Offenses and Violations,” Fines & Fees Justice Center, November 20, 2018, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/new-york-should-re-examine-mandatory-court-fees-imposed-on-individuals-convicted-of-criminal-offenses-and-violations/.
[18] Phil Hernandez, Laura Goren, and Chris Wodicka, “Set Up to Fail: How Court Fines & Fees Punish Poverty and Harm Black Communities in Virginia,” Commonwealth Institute, January 2021, https://www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Set-Up-to-Fail-How-Court-Fines-Fees-Punish-Poverty-and-Harm-Black-Communities-in-Virginia.pdf.
[19] Rafael, op. cit.
[20] Sarah Calame and Aravind Boddupalli, “Fines and Forfeitures and Racial Disparities,” Tax Policy Center, August 14, 2020, www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/fines-and-forfeitures-and-racial-disparities.
[21] Mike Maciag, “Addicted to Fines,” Governing, August 19, 2019, https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-addicted-to-fines.html.
[22] Matthew Menendez et al., ”The Steep Costs of Criminal Justice Fees and Fines,” Brennan Justice Center, November 21, 2019, https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/2019_10_Fees%26Fines_Final.pdf.
[23] Malia Brink, “Fines, Fees, and the Right to Vote,” American Bar Association, February 9, 2020, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/voting-rights/fines--fees--and-the-right-to-vote/.
[24] Hernandez, Goren, and Wodicka, op. cit.
[25] See for example Brennan Center for Justice, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/steep-costs-criminal-justice-fees-and-fines; American Civil Liberties Union, “Ending Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons,” www.aclu.org/issues/smart-justice/sentencing-reform/ending-modern-day-debtors-prisons; and Mathilde Laisne, “Past Due: Examining the True Costs of the User-Pay Justice System in New Orleans,” Vera Institute of Justice, January 9, 2017, www.vera.org/projects/past-due-examining-the-true-costs-of-the-user-pay-justice-system-in-new-orleans.
[26] Rafael, op. cit.
[27] The report finds that the Ferguson Police Department issued 90 percent of citations to Black residents, who make up only 67 percent of the city’s population. Justice Department Civil Rights Division, “Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department,” March 4, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf.
[28] Menendez et al., op. cit.
[29] Rebecca Goldstein, Michael W. Sances, and Hye Young You, “Exploitative Revenues, Law Enforcement, and the Quality of Government Service,” Urban Affairs Review, 2018, https://hyeyoungyou.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/finesandpolicing.pdf.
[30] Human Rights Watch, “‘Get on the Ground!’ Policing, Poverty, and Racial Inequality in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” September 12, 2019, https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/09/12/get-ground-policing-poverty-and-racial-inequality-tulsa-oklahoma/case-study-us. See also Damion Shade, ”Reducing Oklahoma’s court fines and fees is police reform,” Oklahoma Policy Institute, updated December 10, 2020, https://okpolicy.org/reducing-oklahomas-court-fines-and-fees-is-police-reform/.
[31] Washington Post, “Fatal Force: 936 People Have Been Shot and Killed by Police In the Past Year,” last accessed September 16, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/.
[32] Menendez et al., op. cit.
[33] Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC), “California AB 1869 Criminal fees,” October 1, 2020, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/california-ab-1869-criminal-fees/.
[34] FFJC, “Colorado HB21-1315: Concerning eliminating certain monetary amounts a juvenile in the justice system is required to pay,” June 21, 2021, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/colorado-hb21-1315-concerning-eliminating-certain-monetary-amounts-a-juvenile-in-the-justice-system-is-required-to-pay/.
[35] State of Connecticut, “Public Act No. 21-54,” https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/ACT/PA/PDF/2021PA-00054-R00SB-00972-PA.PDF.
[36] FFJC, “Maryland HB36: Juvenile Proceedings – Fines, Fees, and Costs,” May 8, 2020, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/maryland-hb36-juvenile-proceedings-fines-fees-and-costs/.
[37] FFJC, “Press Release: Nevada Governor Sisolak Signs Two Crucial Fines and Fees Reform Bills,” June 8, 2021, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/2021/06/08/press-release-nevada-governor-sisolak-signs-two-crucial-fines-and-fees-reform-bills/.
[38] FFJC, “Press Release: New Mexico Legislature Approves Bill Eliminating Fines & Fees for Children,” March 15, 2021, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/2021/03/15/press-release-new-mexico-legislature-unanimously-approves-bill-eliminating-fines-fees-for-children/.
[39] FFJC, “New York's fines and fees need reform now,” https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/campaigns/new-york-campaign-fines-fees/.
[40] FFJC, “Oregon House Bill 4210: An act relating to driving privileges,” July 29, 2020, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/oregon-house-bill-4210-an-act-relating-to-driving-privileges/.
[41] H.B. 1895, 2021, 2021 Special Session, (VA. 2021), https://legiscan.com/VA/bill/HB1895/2021/X1.
[42] FFJC, “Virginia SB1: Driver’s license; suspension for nonpayment of fines or costs,” April 9, 2020, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/virginia-sb1-drivers-license-suspension-for-nonpayment-of-fines-or-costs/.
[43] FFJC, “West Virginia House Bill 4958: Eliminating driver’s license suspension for failure to pay court fines and costs,” April 15, 2020, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/west-virginia-house-bill-4958-eliminating-drivers-license-suspension-for-failure-to-pay-court-fines-and-costs/.
[44] CBPP, “State Revenue Options for Investing in Families and Communities,” https://www.cbpp.org/state-revenue-options-for-investing-in-families-and-communities.
[45] Samantha Waxman and Elizabeth McNichol, “Improved State Taxes on Wealth, High Incomes Can Help Fuel an Equitable Recovery,” CBPP, December 10, 2020, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/improved-state-taxes-on-wealth-high-incomes-can-help-fuel-an.
[46] Wesley Tharpe, “Raising State Income Tax Rates at the Top a Sensible Way to Fund Key Investments,” CBPP, February 7, 2019, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/raising-state-income-tax-rates-at-the-top-a-sensible-way-to-fund-key.
[47] Cortney Sanders, Michael Leachman, and Erica Williams, “3 Principles for an Antiracist, Equitable State Response to COVID-19 — and a Stronger Recovery,” CBPP, updated April 29, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/3-principles-for-an-antiracist-equitable-state-response-to-covid-19.
[48] Lisa J. Dettling et al., “Recent Trends in Wealth-Holding by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances,” Federal Reserve Board, September 27, 2017, https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/recent-trends-in-wealth-holding-by-race-and-ethnicity-evidence-from-the-survey-of-consumer-finances-20170927.htm.
[49] Iris J. Lav and Michael Leachman, “State Limits on Property Taxes Hamstring Local Services and Should Be Relaxed or Repealed,” CBPP, July 18, 2018, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-limits-on-property-taxes-hamstring-local-services-and-should-be.
[50] CBPP, “State Revenue Options for Investing in Families and Communities.”
[51] Chris Mai and Maria Rafael, “The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Florida,” Vera Institute of Justice, December 2020, https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-high-price-of-using-justice-fines-and-fees-florida.pdf.
[52] Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Detailed Revenue Report July 2020, http://edr.state.fl.us/content/revenues/reports/detailed-revenue-report/detailrpt_jul20.pdf.
[53] Mai and Rafael, “The High Price of Using Justice Fines and Fees to Fund Government in Florida.”
[54] Ibid.
[55] Ibid.
[56] Florida Department of Corrections, “Annual Report: Fiscal Year 2017-18,” https://www.floridaoig.com/library/Annual_rpts/2017-2018/2017-18-DOC-Annual-Report.pdf. For more detail on the commissary costs that are collected, see Florida Economic & Demographic Research, Revenue Impact Results, July 7, 2020, p. 608, http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/revenueimpact/archives/2020/_pdf/Impact0707.pdf.
[57] While the collections rate is calculated as an amount collected in 2018 divided by the amount assessed in 2018, the amount collected includes amounts that were assessed in 2017 and before. See Florida Court Clerk & Comptrollers, “2018 Annual Assessments and Collections Report,” https://flccoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-Annual-Assessments-and-Collections-Report.pdf.
[58] U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Tallahassee Division, Kelvin Jones et al. v. Ron DeSantis et al. Exhibit A: Expert Report of Daniel A. Smith, Ph.D., https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/gruver_v_barton_-_expert_report_of_daniel_a._smith_ph.d.pdf.
[59] Data are from 34 counties that report revenues on “State Court Facility Surcharge ($30)” to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research. “Expenditures and Revenues Reported by Florida's County Governments,” 2018, http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/local-government/data/revenues-expenditures/cntyfiscal.cfm.
[60] For example, a study from the Herald Tribune found that when a white defendant and a Black defendant score the same number of points for the same offense (based on criminal history and other factors), the Black defendant is sentenced to a longer prison stay in 60 percent of Florida felony cases. See Josh Salman, Emily Le Coz, and Elizabeth Johnson, “Florida’s Broken Sentencing System,” Herald Tribune, December 12, 2016, http://projects.heraldtribune.com/bias/sentencing/. A 2013 study found that Black Floridians were more than four times as likely as white Floridians to be arrested for marijuana possession. See ACLU Foundation, “The War on Marijuana in Black and White,” table A5, June 2013, https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/1114413-mj-report-rfs-rel1.pdf.
[61] See for example Carson Whitelemons, Ashley Thomas, and Sarah Couture, “Driving on Empty,” Fines and Fees Justice Center, October 2019, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/content/uploads/2019/11/florida-fines-fees-drivers-license-suspension-driving-on-empty.pdf. The report finds that Black people make up a disproportionate share of suspended licenses for non-payment, relative to their share of the population.
[62] Fines and Fees Justice Center, “Driven by Justice Declares Victory,” https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/story-map/new-york-drivers-license-suspensions/.
[63] As a result of a law passed in August 2020, judges may choose to waive the mandatory surcharge and other fees for defendants under age 21. See New York Assembly Bill A5045, “Relates to allowing a court to waive certain surcharges and fees; repealer,” 2019-20 Legislative Session, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/a5045.
[64] Mai and Rafael, op. cit.
[65] Ibid.
[66] FPWA, “Ending the Poverty to Prison Pipeline,” April 2019, https://www.fpwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FPWAs-Ending-the-Poverty-to-Prison-Pipeline-Report-2019-FINAL.pdf.; Prison Policy Initiative and VOCAL-NY, “Mapping Disadvantage: The Geography of Incarceration in New York State,” February 19, 2020, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ny/report.html.
[67] Mai and Rafael, op. cit.
[68] Virginia Law Library, Code of Virginia, Title 17, Chapter 2, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title17.1/chapter2/.
[69] Mai, op. cit.
[70] Commonwealth of Virginia Compensation Board, “FY 2019 Jail Cost Report: Annual Jail Revenues And Expenditures Report (Including Canteen & Other Auxiliary Funds)” Commonwealth of Virginia Compensation Board, November 1, 2020, https://www.scb.virginia.gov/docs/fy19jailcostreport.pdf.
[71] Mai, op. cit.
[72] Mai, op. cit.
[73] Virginia Department of Judicial Services, General District Court Manual, 2021, Chapter 3, http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/gd/resources/manuals/gdman/chapter03.pdf.
[74] Compensation Board, “FY19 Fines & Fees Report, 2019,” December 1, 2019, https://www.scb.virginia.gov/docs/fy19finesandfeesreport.pdf.
[75] In 2016, 914,000 Virginians lacked a driver’s license due to unpaid fines and fees. Stinnie v. Holcomb, Civ. No. 3:16-cv-44 (W.D. Va.) (Brief Of Amicus Curiae Virginia State Conference Of The NAACP Opposing Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss, filed November 4, 2016), p. 2, https://casetext.com/brief/stinnie-et-al-v-holcomb_brief-in-opposition-to-9-motion-to-dismiss. In fiscal 2016 alone, the commonwealth suspended the licenses of 281,000 people. Steven L. Dalle Mura, “Briefing on the Collection of Court Costs and Fines,” Virginia House Appropriations Committee, January 23, 2017, p. 8, https://hac.virginia.gov/committee/files/2017/01-23-17/Collection%20of%20Fines%20and%20Costs%20and%20License%20Suspension.pdf.
[76] Mai, op. cit.
[77] Rafael, op. cit.
[78] Ibid.
[79] Washington’s combined state and local expenditures were $78.6 billion in fiscal 2018. Urban Institute, “State and Local Finance Initiative: Washington,” database (Washington, DC: Urban Institute), https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-andlocal-finance-initiative/projects/state-fiscal-briefs/washington. For an archived version of the data as available at the time this report was prepared, see https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/projects/state-fiscal-briefs/washington.
[80] Rafael, op. cit.
[81] ACLU of Washington, “Legislature passes bill to bring fairness to Washington’s system of Legal Financial Obligations,” March 6, 2018, https://www.aclu-wa.org/news/legislature-passes-bill-bring-fairness-washington%E2%80%99s-system-legal-financial-obligations.
[82] Briana Hammons, “Tip of the Iceberg: How Much Criminal Justice Debt Does the U.S. Really Have?” FFJC, April 2021, https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/content/uploads/2021/04/Tip-of-the-Iceberg_Criminal_Justice_Debt_BH1.pdf.
[83] ACLU of Washington and Columbia Legal Services, “Modern Day Debtors Prisons in Washington,” February 10, 2014, https://aclu-wa.org/docs/modern-day-debtors-prisons-washington.
[84] The minimum wage in Washington in 2021 is $13.69 per hour, which amounts to a monthly income of $2,373 for a full-time worker. Note that Seattle’s minimum wage is higher, at $15 per hour.
[85] Karin D. Martin, “Mitigating and Understanding the Nature, Extent, and Harms of Criminal Justice Debt in Pierce County,” report to the West Coast Poverty Center, May 15, 2019, pp. 5-10, https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/the-high-price-of-using-justice-fines-and-fees-washington.pdf.
[86] Frank Edwards and Alexes Harris, “An Analysis of Court Imposed Monetary Sanctions in Seattle Municipal Courts, 2000-2017.” August 15, 2020, https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ajpqc.