Committee recommends eliminating court fee for installment payments

(The Center Square) - An Arkansas committee studying the state's court system recommended the elimination of a $10 monthly fee imposed on Arkansans who make court payments in installments.

The state could pick up the $11 million in revenue generated by the fee, but no decision was made, according to a vote of the House and Senate Judiciary committees on Monday. That would be up to the Arkansas State Legislature.

The $10 fee is split between several accounts, according to Rep. Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana, who chaired the meeting.

"Two-fifty goes to the Local Automation Fund Account, which the district judges oversee. $2.50 goes to AOC (Administrative Office of the Courts) for their automation account and all of that," Dalby said. "And the other $5 left goes into that AOJ fund, Administration of Justice Fund," which gets to divvied out to, I think we are up to 24 or maybe 25 different entities."

In some cases, the installment fees paid by a defendant exceed the original fine or restitution, according to Mark Whitmore of the Association of Arkansas Counties.

The committee also recommended the elimination of the city and county portion of salaries for district judges. The state would pick up the tab, which would be nearly $4 million.

Lawmakers also discussed the Administration of Justice Fund, which provided money for 24 different entities. Dalby said the question is whether some of the entities should be placed in the general budget.

"We say, 'oh, you're funded at this amount, but you're really not,'" Dalby said. "You're only getting a portion of that amount because it may not fund it exactly."

Lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the study in 2023. The committee will send a report to the Legislature and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders by Oct. 1.