Arizona eliminates juvenile court fees after Gov. Katie Hobbs signs bipartisan bill

Arizona has eliminated juvenile court fees, joining an increasing number of states nationwide that have done so in recent years.

Fees assessed by a juvenile court — for court-appointed attorneys, probation, detention and diversion programs — can pile up for a young person and their family. In Pinal County, for example, a young person can be charged nearly $2,000 in juvenile court fees, according to an estimate by the policy advocacy clinic at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Unpaid fees can ultimately prevent an individual from clearing their juvenile record.

A bill signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday eliminates these court-ordered juvenile fees. Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, and Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, introduced it.

Getting the bill passed wasn’t easy, said Erika Ovalle, who co-founded Puente Human Rights Movement and Decarcerate AZ and has advocated for the reform of juvenile court fees. This was the third year that similar legislation was introduced in the state.

“It’s one way to get a barrier removed off our backs,” she said. "I’ve been organizing for a long time, and to finally see a bill be passed to help young people thrive is a major step."

Individuals with previously assessed fees will have to apply to have their debt waived, and juvenile courts will no longer be able to consider outstanding fees when deciding whether to destroy juvenile records.

“It’s going to bring relief to a lot of vulnerable families,” said Devan Shea, who helps run the Berkeley Law clinic that studied Arizona's juvenile court fees.

The bill does not eliminate fines related to certain DUI assessments or victim restitution, but it does reduce the amount of community service a court can order for juvenile DUI offenses.

Learn more about juvenile court fees: Arizona juvenile court fees add up fast for youth and families. How lawmakers want to change that

Bill received broad bipartisan support

The effort to eliminate juvenile court fees received broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“I appreciate the dialogue and the compromise that let this become such an overwhelming, bipartisan issue that these kids need to be set free of mistakes,” said Rebecca Gau, executive director of Stand for Children Arizona. “This is not where we should be placing the burden of these financial issues.”

The first version of the bill, introduced in 2021, was pulled because of concerns that lost revenue would result in unintended consequences for juvenile programs, according to Gau.

Last year's legislation had an appropriation of over $2 million, which Gau cited as the reason it failed. The bill's supporters were not convinced that an appropriation was justified. According to research by the Berkeley Law clinic, the cost of collecting juvenile court fees in Arizona is high relative to the revenue they generate.

This year, an analysis by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that the bill would reduce state and local government revenue by about $2.1 million per year. Lawmakers worked to get about $250,00 set aside in the budget for each of the next three years to offset some of the lost revenue for courts, according to Gau.

With the bill, Arizona joins other states in the region that have significantly reduced or eliminated court-ordered fees in the juvenile justice system, including New Mexico, Colorado, California and Texas.

“It’s very exciting to see this regional development," Shea said.

The bill’s supporters said their work is not done. Gau and Ovalle are planning to conduct outreach and help individuals apply to have their debt waived, they said. The application process must be developed within six months, according to the bill, which also requires the state Supreme Court to make a “reasonable effort” to notify eligible individuals.

“I hope that the work just keeps moving,” Ovalle said. “Let this be the start to many, many more things that we’re working on: opportunities for young people, making sure their communities are well-resourced, all of that stuff.”

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter at @maddieparrish61.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona latest state to eliminate fees assessed by juvenile courts