NC H636

Requires courts to assess defendants' ability to pay before imposing court costs and allows waiver or reduction of costs upon written order with findings of fact, except for certain lab and expert witness fees.

Reduces the failure-to-appear fee from $200 to $100 and eliminates imprisonment for nonpayment of fines and costs when a defendant is serving an active sentence in the same case.

Prohibits driver's license revocation solely for failure to appear in court or failure to pay fines, penalties, or court costs, effective October 1, 2023.

Eliminates court costs for seat belt infractions (retains only the $25.50 penalty) and clarifies that community service fees and probation supervision fees may be waived for good cause.

Requires mandatory exemption from probation supervision fees when probation is extended solely to comply with monetary obligations.