California Penal Code Section 1203.1b

CA Penal Code § 1203.1b (2017)  

(a) In any case in which a defendant is convicted of an offense and is the subject of any preplea or presentence investigation and report, whether or not probation supervision is ordered by the court, and in any case in which a defendant is granted probation, given a conditional sentence, or receives a term of mandatory supervision pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 1170, the probation officer, or his or her authorized representative, taking into account any amount that the defendant is ordered to pay in fines, assessments, and restitution, shall make a determination of the ability of the defendant to pay all or a portion of the reasonable cost of any probation supervision, conditional sentence, or term of mandatory supervision, of conducting any preplea investigation and preparing any preplea report pursuant to Section 1203.7, of conducting any presentence investigation and preparing any presentence report made pursuant to Section 1203, and of processing a jurisdictional transfer pursuant to Section 1203.9 or of processing a request for interstate compact supervision pursuant to Sections 11175 to 11179, inclusive, whichever applies. The reasonable cost of these services and of probation supervision, a conditional sentence, or mandatory supervision shall not exceed the amount determined to be the actual average cost thereof. A payment schedule for the reimbursement of the costs of preplea or presentence investigations based on income shall be developed by the probation department of each county and approved by the presiding judge of the superior court. The court shall order the defendant to appear before the probation officer, or his or her authorized representative, to make an inquiry into the ability of the defendant to pay all or a portion of these costs. The probation officer, or his or her authorized representative, shall determine the amount of payment and the manner in which the payments shall be made to the county, based upon the defendant’s ability to pay. The probation officer shall inform the defendant that the defendant is entitled to a hearing, that includes the right to counsel, in which the court shall make a determination of the defendant’s ability to pay and the payment amount. The defendant must waive the right to a determination by the court of his or her ability to pay and the payment amount by a knowing and intelligent waiver.

(b) When the defendant fails to waive the right provided in subdivision (a) to a determination by the court of his or her ability to pay and the payment amount, the probation officer shall refer the matter to the court for the scheduling of a hearing to determine the amount of payment and the manner in which the payments shall be made. The court shall order the defendant to pay the reasonable costs if it determines that the defendant has the ability to pay those costs based on the report of the probation officer, or his or her authorized representative. The following shall apply to a hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision:

(1) At the hearing, the defendant shall be entitled to have, but shall not be limited to, the opportunity to be heard in person, to present witnesses and other documentary evidence, and to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses, and to disclosure of the evidence against the defendant, and a written statement of the findings of the court or the probation officer, or his or her authorized representative.

(2) At the hearing, if the court determines that the defendant has the ability to pay all or part of the costs, the court shall set the amount to be reimbursed and order the defendant to pay that sum to the county in the manner in which the court believes reasonable and compatible with the defendant’s financial ability.

(3) At the hearing, in making a determination of whether a defendant has the ability to pay, the court shall take into account the amount of any fine imposed upon the defendant and any amount the defendant has been ordered to pay in restitution.

(4) When the court determines that the defendant’s ability to pay is different from the determination of the probation officer, the court shall state on the record the reason for its order.

(c) The court may hold additional hearings during the probationary, conditional sentence, or mandatory supervision period to review the defendant’s financial ability to pay the amount, and in the manner, as set by the probation officer, or his or her authorized representative, or as set by the court pursuant to this section.

(d) If practicable, the court shall order or the probation officer shall set payments pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) to be made on a monthly basis. Execution may be issued on the order issued pursuant to this section in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. The order to pay all or part of the costs shall not be enforced by contempt.

(e) The term “ability to pay” means the overall capability of the defendant to reimburse the costs, or a portion of the costs, of conducting the presentence investigation, preparing the preplea or presentence report, processing a jurisdictional transfer pursuant to Section 1203.9, processing requests for interstate compact supervision pursuant to Sections 11175 to 11179, inclusive, and probation supervision, conditional sentence, or mandatory supervision, and shall include, but shall not be limited to, the defendant’s:

(1) Present financial position.

(2) Reasonably discernible future financial position. In no event shall the court consider a period of more than one year from the date of the hearing for purposes of determining reasonably discernible future financial position.

(3) Likelihood that the defendant shall be able to obtain employment within the one-year period from the date of the hearing.

(4) Any other factor or factors that may bear upon the defendant’s financial capability to reimburse the county for the costs.

(f) At any time during the pendency of the judgment rendered according to the terms of this section, a defendant against whom a judgment has been rendered may petition the probation officer for a review of the defendant’s financial ability to pay or the rendering court to modify or vacate its previous judgment on the grounds of a change of circumstances with regard to the defendant’s ability to pay the judgment. The probation officer and the court shall advise the defendant of this right at the time of rendering of the terms of probation or the judgment.

(g) All sums paid by a defendant pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the operating expenses of the county probation department.

(h) The board of supervisors in any county, by resolution, may establish a fee for the processing of payments made in installments to the probation department pursuant to this section, not to exceed the administrative and clerical costs of the collection of those installment payments as determined by the board of supervisors, except that the fee shall not exceed seventy-five dollars ($75).

(i) This section shall be operative in a county upon the adoption of an ordinance to that effect by the board of supervisors.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 468, Sec. 1. (AB 2199) Effective January 1, 2015.)

Last modified: October 25, 2018