The Missouri House voted to prevent judges from further incarcerating someone for failing to pay for their jail time, which is officially known as a “board bill.”
Instead, a local sheriff could collect those costs through civil proceedings. The judge could also waive those costs.
The bill received support from both sides of the aisle. Representatives including the bill’s sponsor, Bruce DeGroot, said forcing someone to pay their “board bills” added to a cycle of debt.
“I use the example of the lady in a rural district who stole an $8 tube of mascara, put in jail, and ultimately she wound up owing $10,000 and she’ll never get out of the system because of it," DeGroot said.
The bill passed the House with a vote of 156 to 1.