46-18-230: Legislative findings -- cost of criminal proceedings.

With respect to the cost of criminal proceedings, the legislature finds that:

(1) the vast majority of the cost of the criminal proceedings in the state is borne by the general taxpaying public;

(2) it is in the state's best interest to attempt to recover as much as possible of the cost of criminal proceedings from individuals who have been convicted of violating state laws;

(3) various courts in the state of Montana have recently held that certain reasonable fees imposed upon defendants in criminal proceedings in the state, such as fees for general cost of prosecution, pretrial supervision, and community service supervision, were unlawful because there was no specific statutory authorization for the imposition of the costs on the defendant; and

(4) the costs of prosecution and supervision of criminal defendants is a shared responsibility of the state and the counties.