William Larsen

Did you know?

Did you know?

How many knew that the Indiana Police Death insurance fund is funded by a fee on bond money? If you are accused of a crime and post bail, you will be charged $5 regardless if you are later acquitted or the prosecutor drops the charges because of lack of a chargeable offense or later determined to be a false arrest.

Explanation of State Revenues: (Revised) The bill imposes a $5 fee on each bail bond and deposits the fees collected in the Special Death Benefit Fund. Revenue from the $5 bail bond fee will depend upon the number of bail bonds issued. The original bail bond fee of $5 began in 1988 (P.L. 44), the fee expired December 31, 1998. However, according to the State Auditor, money still continues to be collected in some counties and is deposited into the Special Death Benefit Fund. From FY 1995 through FY 1999, revenue from the $5 Bail Bond Fee averaged approximately $499,000, while revenue from FY 2000 through FY 2004, after expiration of the fee, averaged approximately $31,000. The net revenue in addition to what is already collected is estimated to be approximately $468,000.

Question: If the fee expired in on December 31, 1998, why is the City of Fort Wayne still collecting it? More importantly why should anyone wrongly accused or acquitted have to pay this fee?

posted by William Larsen @ 11:21 PM