Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise a provision regarding an electronic payment convenience fee.

This is one of a series of bills the Supreme Court has recommended in its annual report to the Governor concerning defects or omissions in the laws, as required by article V, section 25 of the Idaho Constitution. Idaho Code § 31-3221 requires the assessment of an electronic payment convenience fee when a debt owed to the court is paid with a debit or credit card. This statute also directs that the convenience fee be deposited into the court technology fund created by I.C. § 1-1623. Pursuant to standard industry practice, and as a matter of efficiency, electronic payment processing vendors normally retain convenience fees as payment for their services. Requiring the convenience fee to first be routed through the court technology fund fails to align with the industry standard and creates an inefficient process for both the courts and the payment processing vendors. As a result, this bill will strike § 31-3221’s requirement that the electronic payment convenience fee be deposited into the court technology fund before it is distributed to the payment processor.