Texas spends a fortune every year squeezing fines and fees out of criminal defendants. In 2017 alone, the state dumped at least $150 million into court and jail costs associated with absolving court debt. While local governments managed to recoup nearly half a billion dollars in fees and fines, every dollar of revenue collected cost at least 32 cents, spent on either chasing down and processing fees and fines or jailing people in lieu of payment.
In recent years, Texans have also racked up a mountain of debt in the form of unpaid fees and fines that, at last count, totaled at least $742 million. A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University analyzed collections and costs related to court debt in Texas and two other states, and found that criminal fees and fines—on top of disproportionately punishing poor people—are a lousy way to fund a core government function.
“The amount of uncollected debt that is on the books and growing is kind of jaw dropping,” said Matthew Menendez, a Brennan Center attorney and the report’s lead author. “Collecting one dollar in fee and fine revenue costs more than 100 times what the IRS or the state of Texas spend to collect tax revenue.” The report recommends that states shift to taxpayer funding of court operations.
