Charlie Baker

Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker takes questions from members of the media during a news conference at the Statehouse. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

(Steven Senne)

People who can't afford to pay legal fines will be able to fulfill their debt by performing community service instead of serving jail time, under a bill Gov. Charlie Baker is filing on Tuesday.

Criminal defendants who are currently unable to pay fines, fees or other assessments can be incarcerated until the debt is paid off, at a rate of $30 per day. The process is known as "fine time," and critics say it harkens back to the "debtors' prisons" of the 19th century.

Depending on the circumstance, a judge can waive some of the fees and reduce the debt.

"The 'fine time' legislation we filed today will incarcerate fewer people for simply being unable to pay a fine, while ensuring that penalties are still repaid in a more timely fashion," Baker said in a statement.

"If enacted, this bill will improve the fairness of how fines, fees and assessments are administered for criminal defendants, while upholding our laws and the meaningful penalties associated with breaking them," he said.

The bill also sets up a process for determining whether a person can satisfy their obligations, according to the governor's office.

A hearing and a written finding must be issued showing the defendant's "willful" choice, the governor's office said. The bill allows for an attorney to be provided to an indigent defendant before a judge imposes a prison sentence.

The bill also triples the daily rate if a person is incarcerated to $90 a day from $30 a day. That would reduce the amount of time someone would need to serve in order to satisfy the court debt.

"The current system for imposing fines or serving jail time is capable of negatively compounding a situation well beyond its original intent if an offender can't afford to pay their penalty obligation," Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in a statement.

A Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee report issued last year laid out issues with "fine time" and recommended reforms similar to what the governor's bill proposes. The report was titled, "Fine Time Massachusetts: Judges, Poor People, and Debtors' Prison in the 21st Century."

"I'm pleased the governor and lieutenant governor agree that something needs to be done," state Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who chaired the committee when it issued the report, said in a statement provided by the Baker administration.

Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, has called for the elimination of "fine time."

Shira Schoenberg contributed to this report.