Bill > S1300

This bill requires adult prisoners in state or county correctional facilities to pay a daily fee for their incarceration if they are found not to be indigent, meaning they have the financial means to pay. The Department of Probation will interview prisoners at sentencing to assess their financial situation, following specific legal procedures. If a prisoner is deemed not indigent, the court will order them to pay $2.00 per calendar day of incarceration to the Commonwealth (for state facilities) or the county (for county facilities) to help cover the costs. The facility's administration will prepare an accounting of the owed sums before the prisoner's release, but failure to pay will not prevent their release or be grounds for violating probation or parole. This requirement does not apply to prisoners who are pregnant, terminally ill, or hospitalized during their incarceration, and any disputes over these determinations can be appealed through established legal channels.