2025 Session Last amended: 2001 session

§ 574.34 — Fines, How Disposed of

Plain-Language Summary

This section determines where fine and forfeiture money goes after it is collected. Generally, fines and forfeitures go to the county treasury where the offense occurred. In counties within certain consolidated judicial districts, the money goes to the state general fund. When a city attorney prosecutes a gross misdemeanor, fine proceeds are distributed as if it were a city-prosecuted misdemeanor, and the county pays incarceration costs.

Practical Notes
The destination of fine revenue — county or state — depends on which judicial district the county is in. Local prosecutors should be aware of this distinction when budgeting and reporting. Cities that prosecute gross misdemeanors can retain the fine revenue under the same rules as misdemeanors, but bear no incarceration cost burden.