Fiscal impact
reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for
standing finance committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume
responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they are used for other
purposes.
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Previously issued FIRs and attachments may also be obtained from the LFC
in
|
SPONSOR |
Park |
DATE TYPED |
|
HB |
211 |
||
|
SHORT
TITLE |
Escape Form Community Corrections Programs |
SB |
|
||||
|
|
ANALYST |
Reynolds-Forte |
|||||
APPROPRIATION
|
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
||
|
FY04 |
FY05 |
FY04 |
FY05 |
||
|
|
|
|
Indeterminate |
Recurring
|
General
Fund |
(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
LFC Files
Responses
Received From
Corrections
Department
Attorney
General’s Office
Administrative
Office of the Courts
Public
Defender’s Office
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 211 adds
new language which applies to persons released from
prison before completing their basic prison term in order to participate in a
community corrections program or intensive supervision program. A prisoner who absconds or escapes from the
program before completing their basic prison term will be charged with
escape. Conviction of this charge will
be a fourth degree felony.
The bill has a
Significant Issues
The Corrections
Department notes that in the event of prison overcrowding, they are prepared to
implement a controlled release program that would place inmates convicted of
non-violent offenses to community corrections or intensive supervision
programs, as allowed under current law.
However, under present law, an inmate who was released into such a
program before completing his basic sentence and then absconded or escaped from
program supervision would not be in violation of the criminal law. Such misconduct should be a criminal offense
in order to deter such conduct and to instill public confidence in the program.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Corrections Department estimates that if they
implement the controlled release program, the bill could slightly increase
costs if a program participant absconded from supervision and then was convicted of escape.
The Department anticipates that the number of convictions for the new
offense would be small, perhaps 0 to 3 each year.
The contract/private prison annual costs of
incarcerating an inmate based upon Fiscal Year 03 actual expenditures is
$20,720 per year for males. The cost per
client to house a female inmate at a privately operated facility is $26,313 per
year. Because state owned prisons are
essentially at capacity, any net increase in inmate population will be housed
at a contract/private facility.
The cost per client in Probation and Parole
for a standard supervision program is $1,452 per year. The cost per client in Intensive Supervision
programs is $2,852 per year. The cost
per client in department-operated Community Corrections programs is $4,371 per
year. The cost per client in
privately-operated Community Corrections programs is $9,151 per year. The cost per year for male and female
residential Community Corrections programs is $20,725.
On the other
hand, it could slightly reduce costs if it gave the Department additional
confidence and comfort in the controlled release programs, and implementation
of the programs followed, resulting in a slightly smaller prison population.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The Department of Corrections believes that
there could be an additional burden placed on the Probation and Parole Division,
which must supervise and follow up on participant compliance and any program
violations, including absconding and escaping from the program.
PRF/yr