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Committee advances bill to remove select administrative court fees
Summary
The committee voted 8-0 to report House Bill 1460 out as "do pass." Representative Tammy West said the bill would remove certain administrative court fees added to criminal fines and restitution and that she is working with the secretary of public safety to limit fiscal effects.
Representative Tammy West told the House committee that House Bill 14 60 would remove a small number of administrative court fees that are added on top of criminal fines and restitution.
"House Bill 14 60 seeks to eliminate a small number of the many administrative court fees that are placed on top of criminal fines and restitution," Representative Tammy West told the committee, and she said she was working with Secretary of Public Safety Trisha Everest to minimize the bill's fiscal impact.
The bill prompted questions from other members about how supervision and monitoring would work without some current fee-funded services. Representative Wuer raised concerns about replacing ankle monitors with phone-based monitoring, saying it would be easy for a monitored person to leave a phone at home and travel undetected. "My concern from a monitoring system and for prosecution aspect, seems like it's quite easy to leave my phone at home, go down to the local bar, have whatever drinks and come back as a violation of my probation, but no one's to the wiser," Wuer said.
Wuer also asked that the committee consider funding for community sentencing programs if fees are removed, saying one district judge she has observed has stopped using community sentencing because of lack of support. West replied that she is "very collaborative" and has been working with stakeholders, including OSBI, to respond to those concerns.
Members additionally questioned a provision that would require repayment to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) for investigative costs. Representative Wuer said she had not seen judges ordering such payments and asked West to consider removing that part of the bill; West said she has discussed the provision with OSBI staff and would continue to review it. West said cleanup costs for drug labs were appropriate to retain.
The committee moved to a vote and announced an 8-0 tally. "With a vote of 8 to 0, we'll report your bill out as a do pass, Representative Tammy West," the chair said.
