MI HB5392

Courts must impose minimum state costs as established in MCL 769.1j upon a defendant's guilty plea or conviction.

Courts may impose fines, costs, assessments, and legal assistance expenses authorized by statute, plus reimbursement for compelling the defendant's appearance.

Until December 31, 2026, courts may impose costs reasonably related to actual trial court operational expenses, including salaries, goods, services, and facility maintenance, without calculating case-specific costs.

Courts must provide defendants information about imposed costs and cannot imprison defendants for nonpayment unless the court determines the defendant has resources to pay and made no good-faith payment effort.

Courts must report annually to the state court administrative office on cases with imposed costs, number of cases, total amounts imposed, and amounts collected; the state office compiles this data and reports to the governor and legislature by July 1 each year.