Penal Code section 1209

Upon conviction of any criminal offense for which the court orders the confinement of a person in the county jail, or other suitable place of confinement, either as the final sentence or as a condition of any grant of probation, and allows the person so sentenced to continue in his or her regular employment by serving the sentence on weekends or similar periods during the week other than their regular workdays and by virtue of this schedule of serving the sentence the prisoner is ineligible for work furlough under Section 1208, the county may collect from the defendant according to the defendant’s ability to pay so much of the costs of administration of this section as are allocable to such defendant. The amount of this fee shall not exceed the actual costs of such confinement and may be collected prior to completion of each weekly or monthly period of confinement until the entire sentence has been served, and the funds shall be deposited in the county treasury pursuant to county ordinance.
The court, upon allowing sentences to be served on weekends or other nonemployment days, shall conduct a hearing to determine if the defendant has the ability to pay all or a part of the costs of administration without resulting in unnecessary economic hardship to the defendant and his or her dependents. At the hearing, the defendant shall be entitled to have, but shall not be limited to, the opportunity to be heard in person, to present witnesses and other documentary evidence, and to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses, and to disclosure of the evidence against the defendant, and a written statement of the findings of the court. If the court determines that the defendant has the ability to pay all or part of the costs of administration without resulting in unnecessary economic hardship to the defendant and his or her dependents, the court shall advise the defendant of the provisions of this section and order him or her to pay all or part of the fee as required by the sheriff, probation officer, or Director of the County Department of Corrections, whichever the case may be. In making a determination of whether a defendant has the ability to pay, the court shall take into account the amount of any fine imposed upon the defendant and any amount the defendant has been ordered to pay in restitution.
As used in this section, the term “ability to pay” means the overall capability of the defendant to reimburse the costs, or a portion of the costs, and shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(a)

The defendant’s present financial position.

(b)

The defendant’s reasonably discernible future financial position. In no event shall the court consider a period of more than six months from the date of the hearing for purposes of determining reasonably discernible future financial position.

(c)

Likelihood that the defendant shall be able to obtain employment within the six-month period from the date of the hearing.

(d)

Any other factor or factors which may bear upon the defendant’s financial capability to reimburse the county for the costs.
Execution may be issued on the order in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action.
The order to pay all or part shall not be enforced by contempt. At any time during the pendency of the judgment, a defendant against whom a judgment has been rendered may petition the rendering court to modify or vacate its previous judgment on the grounds of a change of circumstances with regard to the defendant’s ability to pay the judgment. The court shall advise the defendant of this right at the time of making the judgment.

Source: Section 1209, https://leginfo.­legislature.­ca.­gov/faces/codes_displaySection.­xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=1209.­ (accessed Apr. 24, 2025).

Last Updated

Apr. 24, 2025

§ 1209’s source at ca​.gov