A coalition of legislators and advocates rallied at the New York State Capitol on Monday to urge legislators currently debating the state budget to include a provision that would end the state’s use of predatory court fees. The End Predatory Court Fees Act would eliminate New York’s court fees, mandatory minimum fines, incarceration on the basis of unpaid fines and fees, and garnishment of commissary accounts.
For every traffic ticket or criminal conviction that gets handed down in New York, no matter how minor, courts attach mandatory fees (or surcharges) on top of any fine or sentence imposed. These fees alone can total hundreds of dollars, and the law offers no way for those who cannot afford to pay their fees to have them waived. Those who cannot pay are subjected to severe punishments that trap them in a cycle of poverty and criminalization: incarceration, prolonged or indefinite supervision, and additional fees — with communities of color and low-income communities suffering the most.
“Everyone here knows these fees have to go. But even people in the court system – prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges – know these fees have to go. They see every day who walks through the court system. The poorest people in our state find themselves in the courts. These fees largely go unpaid because you can’t pay a bill with money you don’t have. We then spend more of our own state money to try to collect these fees. And even more egregiously, if people can’t afford them, we incarcerate them,” said Assembly Member Kenny Burgos, lead Assembly sponsor of the End Predatory Court Fees Act.
According to the coalition, the only reason these fees exist is to generate revenue for courts and other government services. Implemented in the 1980s, they have been consistently raised ever since. Yet, the reality is that court fees have been proven to be an ineffective and unstable revenue source. Collection rates are poor (ranging from 28-56%) and in many places, they are getting worse because they are often levied against people who can’t afford fees. Over the last five years, annual collections have decreased by approximately half (49%). Furthermore, research has shown that some jurisdictions actually spend more tax dollars attempting to collect fines and fees than they actually receive.
A recent national study detailed the harm inflicted on those struggling to pay off court debt. According to that survey, two-thirds of respondents with court debt fell behind on rent and mortgage payments, and over a third had to move to different accommodations. New York currently has one of the highest median-rent to income ratios in the country — nearly 60% of residents across the state could not afford to cover a $245 fine and fee without cutting back on household expenses.
While dozens of states and localities both red and blue have enacted reforms to eliminate fees in recent years, New York remains only one of four states with statutes explicitly providing that an individual’s inability to pay does not exempt them from owing these fees.
