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Panel approves bill allowing courts to credit treatment/class costs against fines
Summary
House Bill 383 clarifies that when courts order fines and require classes or treatment, defendants may submit receipts for approved treatment or classes and have those costs deducted from fines. Sponsor and defense representatives described the bill as a clarity fix for courts and defense counsel.
Representative Miller presented House Bill 383 as a straightforward clarification: when a court orders a fine and also orders that a defendant participate in a class or treatment program (substance use, mental health, etc.), the statute would expressly permit the court to deduct the defendant’s documented expense for those programs from the court-ordered fine.
Miller said most courts do this already but that some judges question whether they have explicit statutory authority to credit treatment expenses against fines. As a public defender, Miller said the change helps indigent defendants — he estimated more than 80% of criminal defendants are indigent — prioritize recovery and stability.
Richard Morrow, executive director of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, testified in support and asked the committee to pass the measure out. Morrow described the bill as a “fine bill” and urged favorable passage.
The committee passed HB 383 with a favorable recommendation to the full Senate; the vote recorded was unanimous in committee (4–0 or unanimously recorded).
