RCW 9.94A.760 Legal Financial Obligations-Restitution Obligations

• Library: Washington Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through the 2023 1st Special Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: RCW 9.94A.760

(1) Whenever a person is convicted in superior court, the court may order the payment of a legal financial obligation as part of the sentence. The court may not order an offender to pay costs as described in RCW 10.01.160 if the court finds that the offender at the time of sentencing is indigent as defined in RCW 10.01.160(3). An offender being indigent as defined in RCW 10.01.160(3) is not grounds for failing to impose restitution [or the crime victim penalty assessment under RCW 7.68.035], subject to RCW 9.94A.750(3) and 9.94A.753(3). The court must on either the judgment and sentence or on a subsequent order to pay, designate the total amount of a legal financial obligation and segregate this amount among the separate assessments made for restitution, costs, fines, and other assessments required by law. On the same order, the court is also to set a sum that the offender is required to pay on a monthly basis towards satisfying the legal financial obligation. If the court fails to set the offender monthly payment amount, the department shall set the amount if the department has active supervision of the offender, otherwise the county clerk shall set the amount.

(2) Upon receipt of each payment made by or on behalf of an offender, the county clerk shall distribute the payment in the following order of priority until satisfied:

(a) First, proportionally to restitution to victims that have not been fully compensated from other sources;

(b) Second, proportionally to restitution to insurance or other sources with respect to a loss that has provided compensation to victims;

(c) Third, proportionally to crime victims' assessments that have not been waived under RCW 7.68.035; and

(d) Fourth, proportionally to costs, fines, and other assessments required by law.

(3) If the court determines that the offender, at the time of sentencing, has the means to pay for the cost of incarceration, the court may require the offender to pay for the cost of incarceration. The court shall not order the offender to pay the cost of incarceration if the court finds that the offender at the time of sentencing is indigent as defined in RCW 10.01.160(3). Costs of incarceration ordered by the court shall not exceed a rate of $50 per day of incarceration, if incarcerated in a prison, or the actual cost of incarceration per day of incarceration, if incarcerated in a county jail. In no case may the court require the offender to pay more than $100 per day for the cost of incarceration. All funds recovered from offenders for the cost of incarceration in the county jail shall be remitted to the county and the costs of incarceration in a prison shall be remitted to the department.

(4) The court may add to the judgment and sentence or subsequent order to pay a statement that a notice of payroll deduction is to be issued immediately. If the court chooses not to order the immediate issuance of a notice of payroll deduction at sentencing, the court shall add to the judgment and sentence or subsequent order to pay a statement that a notice of payroll deduction may be issued or other income-withholding action may be taken, without further notice to the offender if a monthly court-ordered legal financial obligation payment is not paid when due, and an amount equal to or greater than the amount payable for one month is owed.