Officials in the state courts say they’re working to fix computer programming mistakes that led to incorrect distribution of $26.5 million in court debts over the past five years.
A computer program distributes court fees and fines to cities, counties and more than a dozen different state and local funds. Court officials say the legislature made changes in 2020 and 2021 that complicated an already elaborate distribution system.
A report from the National Center for State Courts said the system is not unique to Iowa, but “retroactive” and “sometimes conflicting legislation” caused confusion and ultimately the errors in computer coding. Iowa court officials say recommendations in the report are being implemented this fall and they’re working with “stakeholders” to remedy the errors that caused court fines and fees to be distributed incorrectly.
The governor’s budget director and the top Republican in the Iowa House disclosed the errors to the public nearly a week ago. The Iowa Judicial Branch issued its first statement on the situation Friday afternoon. The state court system collected well over half a billion in court fees, fines and penalties over the past five years according to information provided by the Judicial Branch. The computer errors led to mistaken distribution of 4.5% of it.