{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-441.265","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 441.265","heading":"Required reimbursement by prisoner of costs of confinement -- Waiver of","body":"outstanding expenses and reimbursement if prisoner not convicted -- Local\npolicy of fee and expense rates -- Adjustments to per diem rate -- Billing and\ncollection methods.\n(1) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall be required beginning from the prisoner's\nbooking date to reimburse the county for expenses incurred by reason of the\nprisoner's confinement as set out in this section, except for good cause shown.\n(b) If the p risoner is not convicted of any charges brought as a result of the\nprisoner's arrest, the county jail shall waive any outstanding expenses owed by\nthe prisoner and reimburse the prisoner for any expenses already paid to the\ncounty jail for confinement due to that arrest, but the county jail shall not be\nrequired to waive or reimburse any expenses incurred by the prisoner for\nconfinement related to a prior arrest, or for property damage or injury caused\nby the prisoner while confined to the jail.\n(2) (a) The jailer may adopt, with the approval of the county's governing body, a\nprisoner fee and expense reimbursement policy, which may include, but not be\nlimited to, the following:\n1. An administrative processing or booking fee;\n2. A per diem for room and board of not more than fifty dollars ($50) per\nday or the actual per diem cost, whichever is less, for the entire period of\ntime the prisoner is confined to the jail. Not later than the second Friday\nin February of each year, the Department of Corrections shall adjust the\nfifty dollar ($50) maximum per diem for room and board at a rate\naccounting for any percentage increase or decrease in the nonseasonally\nadjusted annual average Consumer Price Index for All Urban\nConsumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, as publi shed by the United\nStates Bureau of Labor Statistics, using 2022 as the base year;\n3. Actual charges for medical and dental treatment; and\n4. Reimbursement for county property damaged or any injury caused by the\nprisoner while confined to the jail.\n(b) Rates charged may be adjusted in accordance with the fee and expense\nreimbursement policy based upon the ability of the prisoner confined to the\njail to pay, giving consideration to any legal obligation of the prisoner to\nsupport a spouse, minor children, or other dependents. The prisoner's interest\nin any jointly owned property and the income, assets, earnings, or other\nproperty owned by the prisoner's spouse or family shall not be used to\ndetermine a prisoner's ability to pay.\n(3) The jailer or his or her de signee may bill and attempt to collect any amount owed\nwhich remains unpaid. The governing body of the county may, upon the advice of\nthe jailer, contract with one (1) or more public agencies or private vendors to\nperform this billing and collection. Withi n twelve (12) months after the date of the\nprisoner's release from confinement, the county attorney, jailer, or the jailer's\ndesignee, may file a civil action to seek reimbursement from that prisoner for any\namount owed which remains unpaid.\n(4) Any fees o r reimbursement received under this section shall be forwarded to the\ncounty treasurer for placement in the jail's budget.\n(5) The governing body of the county may require a prisoner who is confined in the\ncounty jail to pay a reasonable fee, not exceeding  actual cost, for any medical\ntreatment or service received by the prisoner. However, no prisoner confined in the\njail shall be denied any necessary medical care because of inability to pay.\n(6) Payment of any required fees may be automatically deducted from the prisoner's\nproperty or canteen account. If the prisoner has no funds in his or her account, a\ndeduction may be made creating a negative balance. If funds become available or if\nthe prisone r reenters the jail at a later date, the fees may be deducted from the\nprisoner's property or canteen account. Automatic deductions from a prisoner's\ncanteen account shall be made as follows:\n(a) Up to one hundred percent (100%) of an initial deposit in th e prisoner's\naccount may be deducted for:\n1. Any amount owed by the prisoner that is associated with a confinement\nfor a prior arrest; and\n2. Fees and expenses incurred pursuant to subsection (2)(a)4. of this\nsection; and\n(b) Up to fifty percent (50%) of a ny subsequent deposit in the prisoner's account\nfor all expenses incurred by reason of the prisoner's confinement as set out in\nthis section.\n(7) Prior to the prisoner's release, the jailer or his or her designee may work with the\nconfined prisoner to crea te a reimbursement plan to be implemented upon the\nprisoner's release. At the end of the prisoner's incarceration, the prisoner shall be\npresented with a billing statement produced by the jailer or designee. After the\nprisoner's release, the jailer or his or her designee may, after negotiation with the\nprisoner, release the prisoner from all or part of the prisoner's repayment obligation\nif the jailer believes that the prisoner will be unable to pay the full amount due.\n(8) No per diem shall be charged to a ny prisoner who is required to pay a work release\nfee pursuant to KRS 439.179, a prisoner that has been ordered to pay a\nreimbursement fee by the court pursuant to KRS 534.045, or that the Department of\nCorrections is financially responsible for housing.\n(9) No medical reimbursement, except that provided for in KRS 441.045, shall be\ncharged to any prisoner that the Department of Corrections is financially\nresponsible for housing.","path":["KRS Chapter 441"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=53034","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:55Z","sha256":"bbc862fffe276c25eeac203ee65b2b2cf035312da6e5e0ec6493520dfc7dfaed","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-441.260","next":"us-ky/krs-441.270"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}