§706-644 Consequences of nonpayment; imprisonment for contumacious nonpayment; summary collection. (1) When a defendant is sentenced pursuant to section 706-605, granted a conditional discharge pursuant to section 712-1255, or granted a deferred plea pursuant to chapter 853, and the defendant is ordered to pay a fine or restitution, whether as an independent order, as part of a judgment and sentence, or as a condition of probation or deferred plea, and the defendant defaults in the payment thereof or of any installment, the court, upon the motion of the prosecuting attorney or upon its own motion, may require the defendant to show cause why the defendant's default should not be treated as contumacious and may issue a summons or a warrant of arrest for the defendant's appearance. Unless the defendant shows that the defendant's default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the order of the court, or to a failure on the defendant's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds required for the payment, the court shall find that the defendant's default was contumacious and may order the defendant committed until the fine, restitution, or a specified part thereof is paid.

(2) When a fine or restitution is imposed on a corporation or unincorporated association, it is the duty of the person or persons authorized to make disbursement from the assets of the corporation or association to pay it from those assets, and their failure to do so³ may be held contumacious unless they make the showing required in subsection (1).

(3) The term of imprisonment for nonpayment of fine or restitution shall be specified in the order of commitment, and shall not exceed one day for each $25 of the fine, thirty days if the fine was imposed upon conviction of a violation or a petty misdemeanor, or one year in any other case, whichever is the shorter period. A person committed for nonpayment of a fine shall be given credit toward payment of the fine for each day of imprisonment, at the rate of $25 per day.

(4) If it appears that the defendant's default in the payment of a fine or restitution is not contumacious, the court may make an order allowing the defendant additional time for payment, reducing the amount of each installment, or revoking the fine or the unpaid portion thereof in whole or in part, or converting the unpaid portion of the fine to community service. A defendant shall not be discharged from an order to pay restitution until the full amount of the restitution has actually been collected or accounted for.

(5) Unless discharged by payment or, in the case of a fine, service of imprisonment pursuant to subsection (3), an order to pay a fine or restitution, whether as an independent order, as a part of a judgment and sentence, or as a condition of probation or deferred plea pursuant to chapter 853, may be collected in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. The State or the victim named in the order may collect the restitution, including costs, interest, and attorney's fees, pursuant to section 706-646. The State may collect the fine, including costs, interest, and attorney's fees pursuant to section 706-647.

(6) Attorney's fees, costs, and interest shall not be deemed part of the penalty, and no person shall be imprisoned under this section in default of payment of attorney's fees, costs, and interest. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1986, c 314, §36; gen ch 1992; am L 1996, c 137, §2; am L 1998, c 269, §6]