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SPONSOR: |
Powdrell-Culbert |
DATE TYPED: |
|
HB |
912 |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Treatment Programs for Meritorious Deductions |
SB |
|
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ANALYST: |
Reynolds-Forte |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
|
|
|
|
|
Substantial |
Recurring |
General
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates
to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
Responses
Received From
New
Mexico Corrections Department
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
HB912 makes inmates who are within twelve (12)
months or less of their projected release date
ineligible for earned meritorious deductions
(“good time”) unless the inmate actively participates in:
Significant Issues
The most
significant issue to the Corrections Department is the increase in costs due to
the increase in prison population that will result.
1. The Department estimates that approximately
60% to 80% of its entire prison population are incarcerated for either sex
offenses or alcohol or drug related offenses.
In other words, the vast majority of the population would have to be
provided such programs during the last year of their incarceration in order to
earn “good time.” The Department
currently has insufficient staff and/or other resources to provide this amount
of programming.
2. Many
inmates may refuse to actively participate in such programming and thus lengthier
prison sentences will results in more cost to the Department.
3. If the bill contained funding for an increase
in substance abuse and sex offender programming, the bill could have a positive
impact upon Department parole programs, because more inmates would receive
treatment before release from prison.
Since the bill does not contain the funding necessary to create the
“mandatory” level of programming in prison, it could dilute and negatively
impact existing substance abuse and sex offender programs.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Corrections Department is concerned there is
no appropriation in the bill to cover the substantial increase in costs. The Department currently has the ability to
provide substance abuse and sex offender programming to only about 10% of the
40% inmate population targeted by this bill.
The Department would need additional funding for either more F.T.E. or
additional contracts to provide such treatment.
In the long term, there will be a substantial
increase in costs due to larger prison populations resulting from longer
periods of incarceration. The cost for
each additional male inmate is $64.53 per day or $23,553 per year and $68.82
per day or $25,119 per year for each additional female inmate.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
In both the short term and the long term,
the bill would result in a dramatic increase in the administrative burden upon
substance abuse treatment staff, mental health staff and others in order to
provide services to a much greater number of inmates.
RELATIONSHIP
Relates to HB839 which
expands the list of offenses for a serious violent offense and amends
eligibility formula for earned meritorious deductions.
PRF/njw