ID H0067

Supreme Court and district court clerks (with administrative district judge approval) may contract with collection agents to collect unpaid court debts including fines, costs, surcharges, penalties, restitution, and indigent defense expenses in criminal cases.

Collection fees charged to defendants who fail to pay court-ordered amounts shall not exceed 33% of the amount collected and must be deducted from collected amounts before payment to the court.

Defendants shall be credited only for net proceeds collected and cannot have their total debt reduced by the collection fee portion of any payment.

Supreme Court may adopt rules governing contract negotiation, execution procedures, court utilization of collection services, and procedures for compromising debts owed to courts in criminal cases.

All collected amounts, after deducting the agreed-upon collection fee, shall be distributed by the district court clerk to the originating court in accordance with law.