Idaho State Statutes - Idaho Attorney Directory

(1) The county sheriff
shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation
to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as
follows:
(a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five
dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up
to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the
entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail,
including any period of pretrial detention;
(b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect
payments under this section;
(c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may
investigate the financial status of the person.
(d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a
daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and
shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred.
(2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff
shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of
prisoners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of
the prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and
ages of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of
real and personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank
accounts, pensions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property
of significant cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating
the financial status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement.
(3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information
and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying
subsection (2) of this section.
(b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or
cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not
receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621, Idaho Code.
(4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of
the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each
sentenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission.
(5) (a) Within one (1) year of the release of a person as a sentenced
prisoner from any county jail, a representative for that county may file a
civil action in the small claims department of the magistrate's division
pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23, title 1, Idaho Code, to seek
reimbursement from that person for the cost of incarceration. A civil
action may be filed only after determining from the financial status form,
as required in subsection (2) of this section, that sufficient assets are
available to justify further recovery efforts and that further action to
collect the daily expense for maintaining the sentenced person by the
county will not cause the sentenced person or his dependents to qualify
for public assistance.
(b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the
name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates
and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the
length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the
county pursuant to this section.
(c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the
defendant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of
the defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or
provide victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents
to whom the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support.
(6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to
the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for
jail maintenance and operation purposes.

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