The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would allow prison officials to request a once-a-year adjustment of fees paid by parolees and probationers by as much as 20%.
Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, said the $35 monthly supervision fee set by law could not be amended by the Department of Corrections during the covid-19 pandemic when many people on parole or probation lost their jobs. Conversely, he said, the agency will want to recoup lost revenue once the pandemic is over.
"They are having a cash-flow issue and they do want to increase their fee at some point," Wardlaw said.
Wardlaw's legislation, House Bill 1114, would allow the Board of Corrections to request an increase or decrease of up to 20% to the supervision fee once every year. That request would have to be approved by the Legislative Council.
The bill drew opposition from two defense attorneys and several Democrats before it passed the committee on a divided voice vote.
"We're generating revenue on the heels of the poor," said Gregg Parrish, the executive director of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission. "They don't have the money."
Parrish and another defense attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, pointed out that people who are on parole or probation can often owe more than $1,500 in restitution, court costs and other fees.
Nonpayment of those fees can result in tougher supervision and, in some circumstances, being locked up in the county jail or sent to state prison.
Corrections Secretary Solomon Graves argued that parole and probation officers working for the state do not use revocation as a punishment of nonpayment of fees, and said the system has a procedure in place to waive the fees of defendants who cannot pay them.
Rep. Jay Richardson, D-Fort Smith, asked whether the Department of Corrections planned to lower fees during the remainder of the pandemic, should the bill pass. Graves responded that there would be "conversations" with the board about doing so, but declined to commit to a reduction.
Last April, because of the pandemic, the Division of Community Correction -- a part of the large state prison agency -- waived fees for all of the more than 60,000 Arkansans on supervised release. That waiver expired in May, and some offenders complained that they received automated reminders to pay their fees from the state even when their fees had been waived.
The vote by the Judiciary Committee Tuesday sent HB1114 to the House floor for consideration.