This part establishes procedures for the assessment and collection of a fee to cover the cost of incarceration. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons has been delegated the authority of the Attorney General (see 28 CFR 0.96c) to assess and collect a fee imposed by the Bureau in the event the court neither imposes nor waives a fine pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines 5E1.2(d). For purposes of this part, revocation of parole or supervised release is to be treated as a separate period of incarceration for which a fee may be imposed.

Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.96c, the Bureau of Prisons staff is responsible for calculating the annual average cost of incarceration. This calculation is reviewed annually and the revised figure is published as a notice in the Federal Register.

Inmates who began service of sentence before January 1, 1995, or who have had a fine either imposed or expressly waived by the United States District Court, pursuant to Section 5E1.2 (e) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines, or any successor provisions, are exempt from fee assessment otherwise required by this part.

Bureau of Prisons Unit Team staff are responsible for computing the amount of the fee to be paid by each inmate who has not been exempted from fee assessment. The inmate will only be assessed an amount once for the cost of incarceration for each separate period of incarceration.

(a) Unit Team staff are to rely exclusively on the information contained in the Presentence Investigation Report and findings and orders of the sentencing court in order to determine the extent of an inmate's assets, liabilities and dependents.

(b) The fee is assessed in accordance with the following formula: If an inmate's assets are equal to or less than the poverty level, as established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and published annually in the Federal Register, no fee is to be imposed. If an inmate's assets are above the poverty level, Unit Team staff are to impose a fee equal to the inmate's assets above the poverty level up to the average cost to the Bureau of Prisons of confining an inmate for one year.

(c) If the amount of time that the inmate is in custody is less than 334 days (including pretrial custody time), the maximum fee to be imposed is to be computed by prorating the fee on a monthly basis.

The Warden may reduce or waive the fee if the inmate establishes that:

(a) He or she is not able and, even with the use of a reasonable installment schedule, is not likely to become able to pay all or part of the fee, or

(b) Imposition of a fee would unduly burden the inmate's dependents.

Fees imposed pursuant to this part are due and payable after notice of the Unit Team actions. When the inmate participates in the inmate financial responsibility program (see 28 CFR part 545, subpart B), fees are to be included under the category “other federal government obligations” and are to be paid before other financial obligations included in that same category. Fees may be subject to interest charges.

Before the inmate completes his or her sentence, Unit Team staff must review the status of the inmate's fee. Any unpaid amount will be referred for collection in accordance with Federal Claims Collection Standards (4 CFR Chapter II).