Bill > H5305

This bill revises how counties contribute to the costs of juvenile detention care, which is the secure housing of juveniles accused of crimes. It establishes that "nonfiscally constrained counties" (counties that are not designated as rural areas of critical economic concern or that can raise at least $5 million from a mill of property tax) will be responsible for a set amount of these costs, starting with $42.5 million for the 2014-2015 fiscal year and then 50% of the total shared detention costs for subsequent years, with the state covering the rest. The bill also clarifies that "fiscally constrained counties" and out-of-state juveniles will have their detention costs fully covered by the state, and it removes previous provisions that required the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to develop a methodology for determining fiscally constrained counties' costs. Furthermore, each nonfiscally constrained county must budget for its share of detention costs, and the DJJ will provide these counties with information to calculate their contribution based on their prior year's detention days. Finally, the bill includes provisions for specific payments to certain counties over a period of years to resolve past disputes regarding billing for detention care.