Lawmakers move to punish court fee scofflaws

A Pennsylvania state senator says he wants to prevent those with unpaid court costs and fines from registering their cars.

Currently there are $1.6 billion in unpaid court costs and fines in Pennsylvania. Sen. Mike Stack said there must be a new way to go after those who owe money.

“I’ve introduced Senate Bill 836 which would require individuals to pay all outstanding court fines and fees before they can have their registration renewed,” said Stack.

State Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCafferty says the goal is to collect money without jailing those who owe fees and fines.

“We need to do something to get people to understand that they can’t walk out of courtrooms across Pennsylvania and ignore restitution, ignore court costs, ignore court fines. They need to know this is serious business,” he said.

State Rep. John Sabatina has introduced a companion bill in the Pennsylvania House.