1993 Alaska Statutes
TITLE 12 CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Chapter 12.55 SENTENCING AND PROBATION
Section 12.55.051 ENFORCEMENT OF FINES AND RESTITUTION.

(a) If the defendant defaults in the payment of a fine or any installment or of restitution or any installment, the court may order the defendant to show cause why the defendant should not be sentenced to imprisonment for nonpayment and, if the payment was made a condition of the defendant's probation, may revoke the probation of the defendant. In a contempt or probation revocation proceeding brought as a result of failure to pay a fine or restitution, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant was unable to pay despite having made continuing good faith efforts to pay the fine or restitution. If the court finds that the defendant was unable to pay despite having made continuing good faith efforts, the defendant may not be imprisoned solely because of the inability to pay. If the court does not find that the default was attributable to the defendant's inability to pay despite having made continuing good faith efforts to pay the fine or restitution, the court may order the defendant imprisoned until the order of the court is satisfied. A term of imprisonment imposed under this section may not exceed one day for each $50 of the unpaid portion of the fine or restitution or one year, whichever is shorter. Credit shall be given toward satisfaction of the order of the court for every day a person is incarcerated for nonpayment of a fine or restitution.

(b) When a fine or restitution is imposed on an organization, the person authorized to make disbursements from the assets of the organization shall pay the fine or restitution from those assets. A person required to pay a fine or restitution under this subsection who intentionally refuses or fails to make a good faith effort to pay is punishable under (a) of this section.

(c) A defendant who has been sentenced to pay a fine or restitution may request a hearing regarding the defendant's ability to pay the fine or restitution at any time that the defendant is required to pay all or a portion of the fine or restitution. The court may deny the request if it has previously considered the defendant's ability to pay and the defendant's request does not allege changed circumstances. If at a hearing under this subsection, the defendant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant will be unable through good faith efforts to satisfy the order requiring payment of the fine or restitution, the court shall modify the order so that the defendant can pay the fine or restitution through good faith efforts. The court may reduce the fine or restitution ordered, change the payment schedule, or otherwise modify the order.

(d) The state may enforce payment of a fine and the restitution recipient may enforce payment of a restitution order against a defendant under AS 09.35 as if the order were a civil judgment enforceable by execution. This subsection does not limit the authority of the court to enforce fines and orders of restitution to victims.