Governor Kim Reynolds signed a criminal finance sentencing bill into law this year, which Guthrie County Attorney Brenna Bird says has at least one change beneficial to the County.

Bird says the law makes it easier for counties to collect jail fees from convicted criminals. She explains that it costs Guthrie County $60 a day to house inmates plus any additional medical expenses, and previous to the new law the County would charge these fees as part of restitution. It would then be difficult for the County to recoup these expenses as the court would find many convicts unable to pay through a reasonable ability to pay analysis, and Bird says some judges would eventually zero out jail bills, “Going forward it will be done differently. It will be collected as a civil judgment that’s filed by the Sheriff’s Office, and it makes it easier for the Sheriff’s Office to file those bills. Everybody still gets their day in court, due process, all of that, but I think it’s a much more efficient system, and will be ultimately better for the taxpayers of Guthrie County. Because if there is somebody who spends a few days in jail and it gets their attention and they make changes in their life, there’s no reason the taxpayers shouldn’t be reimbursed for the cost that it took to feed and house them.”

Bird adds that the County’s payment plan system makes these owed expenses less burdensome for convicts as they can make installments over time. The sentencing reform bill also lowers some criminal court fees while raising fines, eliminates a private court-debt collection firm, and eliminates a mix of surcharges that were previously attached to offenses.