New fines, fees, and surcharges may be legislated in response to pressure from taxpayers to ensure that people convicted of crimes help contribute to prosecution and incarceration costs, and to fund new criminal justice initiatives, such as a new problem- solving court or treatment program. While understandable, these actions can have unintended consequences: the fines, fees, and surcharges already imposed on people sentenced to prisons and jails can collectively impair people’s ability to meet their financial obligations to their victims and families and to complete the conditions of their sentence.

Before enacting new fines, fees, and surcharges, lawmakers should examine the potential impact of the proposed legislation on the ability of a typical person released from prison or jail to meet child support and restitution obligations and to complete his or her sentence. Similar to an environmental impact statement, a reentry impact statement would add the new fine, fee, or surcharge to the list of existing sanctions (as described in Policy Statement 1). With this information and the input of community supervision staff, victims’ advocates, child support enforcement personnel, and others, policymakers can determine whether the benefits of the new fine, fee, or surcharge will outweigh its costs in terms of public safety and public spending. In particular, policymakers can evaluate whether the inability of people released from prisons and jails to meet this new obligation could potentially contribute to increased rates of reincarceration.