Table 4.

Policy Innovations

Intervention/Recommendations	Key Stakeholders	Models/Resources	Limitations
Reduce the scope of monetary sanctions
Reduce or eliminate jurisdictional reliance on funding from monetary sanctions.	legislators	MO SB5	Constrained political feasibility of pursuing tax-based revenue.
Eliminate the use of private agencies for debt collection, surveillance, and data management.	legislators	The privatization of debt collection creates an array of “cost points” with significant penalties for nonpayment.	Public jurisdictions have been found to engage in practices that mirror those of private agencies, reproducing similar inequalities.
Eliminate arbitrary and excessive monetary sanctions
Evaluate current and future ability to pay at sentencing with clear guidelines outlined on bench cards.	judiciary legislators	WA RCW 10.101.010; “Lawful Collection of Legal Financial Obligations: A Bench Ca rd for Judges” by the National Center for State Courts	Current and future ability to pay only applies to court-imposed costs and people may still be sentenced to fines and mandatory costs.
Evaluate the definition and guidelines used to assess behavior constituting “willful nonpayment.” Add evaluations to bench card guidelines.	judiciary legislators	Legislative and judiciary determinations of what constitutes “willful nonpayment” are influenced by scripts about individual responsibility and deservingness that criminalize poverty.	Ongoing potential for judges to not consider the ability to pay.
Grant waivers for people who are unable to pay at sentencing rather than postconviction.	judiciary legislators	2018 Criminal and Traffic Assessments Act (CCTA), which provided waivers for court costs for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty line (IL HB 4594)	CCTA waivers are a postconviction remedy; CCTA is not retroactive; CCTA does not cover probation fees or mandated program fees.
Remission of monetary sanctions due to hardship.	judiciary legislators	WA SB 1783 allows incarcerated individuals to petition the court to waive interest postrelease; WA RCW 10.101.01 defines manifest hardship where the person is indigent.	A judge could convert monetary sanctions to community services hours, but community service has been shown to cause life disruptions.
Decouple monetary sanctions from other institutions
Eliminate the suspension of driver’s licenses for unpaid costs.	judiciary legislators	Free to Drive Campaign IL HB3653	Potential to reduce the deterrent effect of monetary sanctions.
Enhance data transparency and access
Make data accessible and transparent on monetary sanctions to the public, defendants, and policymakers.	legislators judiciary	Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania; Measures for Justice	Reform requires substantial data infrastructure and manpower to develop, maintain, and share data.

Source: Authors’ tabulation.