HB 1095 Summary

• Requires applicants for public defender appointments to provide financial information including net income, assets, liabilities, and whether they elect to fulfill court-ordered financial obligations through community service.

• Modifies court-ordered payment plans by making monthly payments presumed reasonable if they do not exceed 2% of annual net income without requiring consent; requires clerks to solicit competitive bids from private attorneys or collection agents for unpaid accounts after 90 days; caps collection fees at 40% of amount owed.

• Reduces driver license suspension/revocation periods for drug offenses from 1 year to 6 months for adults and simplifies penalties for minors; repeals discretionary license suspensions for providing alcohol to minors; eliminates mandatory driver license suspensions for school attendance violations and theft adjudications.

• Prohibits suspension of driver licenses solely for failure to pay penalties when person demonstrates inability to pay; allows community service to satisfy noncriminal traffic infractions if person experiences financial hardship; requires courts to inquire about ability to pay when ordering civil penalties.

• Makes various penalties discretionary rather than mandatory for tobacco and nicotine violations by minors; eliminates penalties requiring driver license withholding for possession of alcoholic beverages by minors; effective October 1, 2018.