Article 25. Restorative Justice Surcharge

(1)
(a) Each person who is convicted of a crime is required to pay a ten-dollar surcharge to the clerk of the court for the judicial district in which the conviction occurs.
(b) The surcharge described in this section does not apply to a person under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or the person’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
(2) The clerk of the court shall allocate the surcharge required by subsection (1) of this section as follows:
(a) Five percent shall be retained by the clerk of the court for administrative costs incurred pursuant to this subsection (1). Such amount retained shall be transmitted to the state treasurer for deposit in the judicial stabilization cash fund created in section 13-32-101 (6), C.R.S.
(b) Ninety-five percent shall be transferred to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the restorative justice surcharge fund created pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(3)
(a) There is created in the state treasury the restorative justice surcharge fund that consists of money received by the state treasurer pursuant to this section and section 13-3-116 (4.5) and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the judicial department for distribution to judicial districts that offer restorative justice programs and to the restorative justice coordinating council for administrative expenses.
(b) The judicial department shall establish guidelines for the distribution of the moneys from the fund to assist in defraying the costs of restorative justice programs, including but not limited to procedures for programs to use in applying to the judicial department for moneys from the fund.
(c) The judicial department shall not expend any moneys until the fund has enough money to pay the expenses necessary to administer the fund.
(d) All interest derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund must be credited to the fund. Any moneys not appropriated by the general assembly must remain in the fund and may not be transferred or revert to the general fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.
(4) The court may waive all or any portion of the surcharge required by subsection (1) of this section if the court finds that a person is indigent or financially unable to pay all or any portion of the surcharge. The court may waive only that portion of the surcharge that the court finds that the person is financially unable to pay.
(5) As used in this section, “convicted” and “conviction” mean a plea of guilty accepted by the court, including a plea of guilty entered pursuant to a deferred sentence under section 18-1.3-102, a verdict of guilty by a judge or jury, or a plea of no contest accepted by the court.