County supervisors want more precision in determining cost of ending some criminal justice fees

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors asked Tuesday for more information about how much the county should pay the Contra Costa Superior Court to compensate for the recent suspension of some local criminal justice fees.

These administrative fees have been imposed in the past on people who have been in jail or have otherwise gone through the local justice system, to cover administrative costs of their time in the system.

Such fee relief has been under discussion for at least two years. And in September, Contra Costa County supervisors voted to impose a moratorium on collecting these fees. The moratorium only applies to certain administrative fees, and not to fines or to bail payments.

County staff has determined the “vast majority” of those who would pay criminal-justice fees are poor, and that about 70% of those in Contra Costa jails are people of color. The fees, they said, place an undue burden on both those groups, the county has determined. Also, the jailed people’s families are usually the ones who bear the burden of these fees.

Supervisor John Gioia said wiping out those fees is designed to help get former inmates back on their feet more quickly.

“It’s affecting their ability to move ahead with their lives successfully,” he said.

And further, according to county staff, the benefit to the county from collecting these fees is outweighed by the cost of imposing them, especially given that they often are never paid and cannot be collected.

The supervisors say they want to reimburse the Contra Costa Superior Court for the cost of those uncollected fees, estimated by the court to be approximately $63,750. But County Administrator David Twa told the supervisors Tuesday that figure could well be $100,000 or more. It will take at least 90 days, Twa added, to come up with an accurate number for what the courts should be paid by the county.

County officials said Tuesday that a software program, still being developed, could be crucial in determining how much the county would actually have to pay to compensate for criminal justice fees no longer being collected.

State Senate Bill 144, the Families Over Fees Act, sponsored by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, seeks to accomplish this criminal fee relief statewide. It would end the assessment and collection of specified administrative fees imposed against people in the criminal justice system, and discharge all previous related debt. It is expected to be voted on in 2020.

Contra Costa County supervisors want to hear an update on the fees from county staff sometime in March.

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