Idaho § 20-607 - Prisoner reimbursement to the county

§ 20-607. Prisoner reimbursement to the county

(1) The county sheriff shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as follows:

(a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail, including any period of pretrial detention;

(b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect payments under this section;

(c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may investigate the financial status of the person.

(d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred.

(2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of prisoners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of the prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and ages of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of real and personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank accounts, pensions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property of significant cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating the financial status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement.

(3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying subsection (2) of this section.

(b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621 , Idaho Code.

(4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each sentenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission.

(5) (a) Within one (1) year of the release of a person as a sentenced prisoner from any county jail, a representative for that county may file a civil action in the magistrate’s division pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23, title 1 , Idaho Code, to seek reimbursement from that person for the cost of incarceration. A civil action may be filed only after determining from the financial status form, as required in subsection (2) of this section, that sufficient assets are available to justify further recovery efforts and that further action to collect the daily expense for maintaining the sentenced person by the county will not cause the sentenced person or his dependents to qualify for public assistance.

(b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the county pursuant to this section.

(c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the defendant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or provide victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support.

(6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for jail maintenance and operation purposes.

[20-607, added 1997, ch. 102, sec. 1, p. 236; am. 2003, ch. 245, sec. 1, p. 635; am. 2007, ch. 85, sec. 1, p. 236.]