Sponsors (3)
The bill raises $5,000 assessments on non-indigent federal defendants to increase funds for courts and victim programs and shift costs from the public to convicted individuals, but it imposes significant financial burdens on defendants—especially middle-income people—and creates administrative costs that may reduce net revenue.
Federal courts and victim-support programs will receive additional revenue from a $5,000 assessment on non-indigent convicted defendants, increasing funds available to the judiciary and related services.
Non-indigent defendants convicted under the specified statutes will bear more direct financial responsibility for their convictions, shifting some costs away from the public.
Non-indigent defendants will face an immediate additional fixed $5,000 financial penalty upon conviction, substantially increasing the post-conviction costs for those affected.
The mandatory $5,000 assessment could disproportionately burden middle-income defendants who are non-indigent but lack liquidity, creating potential unfairness and hardship.
Courts will incur administrative costs and workload to determine indigence and collect the additional assessments, which could offset some or all of the expected revenue gain.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal courts to add a mandatory $5,000 assessment on any non-indigent person or entity convicted under the statutes targeted by the bill, to be imposed in addition to existing assessments. Also provides a short title for the law. The bill amends the federal special-assessment statute to make the $5,000 charge compulsory for non-indigent defendants/entities convicted under the listed offenses; the text provided does not show which specific offenses are listed.
Introduced July 31, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress December 11, 2025