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California – Lake County eliminates collection of $25 “screening fee” from indigent defendants – “Not cost…
Friday, 09 September 2011 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF LAKE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA ORDINANCE NO. 2957 AN ORDINANCE RESCINDING ORDINANCE NO. 2834 WHICH ESTABLISHED A PUBLIC DEFENDER LEGAL FEE REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, REGISTRATION FEE, AND REIMBURSEMENT FEE SCHEDULE WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 2834 established a Public Defender Legal Fee Reimbursement Program, Registration Fee, and Reimbursement Fee Schedule; and WHEREAS, at the time Ordinance No. 2834 was adopted, the intent was to establish a pilot program to standardize the eligibility process for defendants seeking a public defender, and to establish a mechanism for recovering costs borne by the County when a defendant has sufficient financial resources to pay a portion of their defense costs; and WHEREAS, the program was intended to be self-funded through collection of a $25 screening fee and was also expected to generate sufficient revenue to cover administrative costs; and WHEREAS, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office has devoted considerable time and resources to test the reimbursement program and despite the time and effort, a very small number of defendants have been assessed a Legal Fee at the conclusion of their case; and WHEREAS, the program has proven very difficult to collect and realized revenue is insufficient to justify the continuation of the program. NOW THEREFORE, BASED UPON THE FOREGOING, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF LAKE ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: 1. That Ordinance No. 2834, ”An Ordinance Adopting a Public Defender Legal Fee Reimbursement Program, Registration Fee, and Reimbursement Fee Schedule” adopted by this Board on August 14, 2007, is hereby rescinded. 2. This ordinance shall take effect on October 6, 2011, and before the expiration of thirty days after its passage it shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the County of Lake. The foregoing ordinance was introduced before the Board of Supervisors on August 23, 2011, and passed by the following vote on September 6, 2011 AYES: Supervisors Smith, Rushing, Farrington, Brown and Comstock NOES: None ABSENT OR NOT VOTING: None ————————— http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/BOS_Minutes.htm