Does section 1202.4 of the California Penal Code require a defendant to prove their ability to pay the fine?

In any event, the court did not err. Subdivision (d) of section 1202.4 makes clear that "'[a] defendant shall bear the burden of demonstrating . . . his or her inability to pay.' This express statutory command makes sense only if the statute is construed to contain an implied rebuttable presumption, affecting the burden of proof, that a defendant has the ability to pay a restitution fine. . . . The statute thus impliedly presumes a defendant has the ability to pay and expressly places the burden on a defendant to prove lack of ability. Where, as here, a defendant adduces no evidence of inability to pay, the trial court should presume ability to pay, as the trial court correctly did here." (People v. Romero (1996) 43 Cal.App.4th 440, 448-449.)

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