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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Beam

DATE TYPED 01/27/05 HB 116/aHTRC

SHORT TITLE Drunkbuster Hotline & Fund

SB

ANALYST Ford

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$350.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Department of Public Safety (DPS)

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Public Defender Department(PDD)

Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HTRC Amendment

The House Taxation and Revenue Committee amendment removes the provision creating the

special “drunkbusters fund” and the provision assessing a $3 fee on all individuals convicted of a

moving violation. The amendment appropriates $350 thousand from the general fund to the De-

partment of Public Safety for the operation of the drunkbusters hotline. The amendment re-

moved the provision providing for a possible reward to callers who provide information that

leads to an arrest.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 116 requires the establishment of the drunkbusters hotline. This toll free, 24 hours

per day hotline would be available to the public for reporting persons suspected of driving under

the influence and persons suspected of selling alcohol to minors.

House Bill 116/aHTRC -- Page 2

Significant Issues

The bill specifies that the hotline must be available to all parts of the state 24 hours per day but

does not specify whether calls to the hotline must be answered by a person or whether calls and

information can be taken on an automated answering system. Given the nature of the offense of

DWI, it would seem necessary for the hotline to be answered by a person so that tips could re-

ceive immediate follow-up. Depending on the call volume and the required response for each

call, this could entail a significant dedication of employee time.

In order to apprehend motorists driving while intoxicated through tips to the hotline, DPS would

have to develop an effective system for screening calls and routing information to appropriate

law enforcement agencies. This would have to be done in a timely manner if local law enforce-

ment is to catch up with intoxicated motorists. This will likely increase the workload of the de-

partment, but also of local law enforcement agencies and the state police. To the extent that

these tips are accurate, the increased workload may lead to increased DWI arrests and the pre-

vention of alcohol-related accidents. However, if a significant portion of the tips are misguided

or incomplete, this may actually detract from law enforcement’s other efforts to effectively com-

bat DWI and other traffic safety problems.

For the hotline to be effective, individuals must be aware of its existence and be able to call the

hotline immediately upon observing an incidence of possible DWI. This would likely require

substantive outreach efforts on the part of the department to make the public aware of the hot-

line.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Both DOT and DPS have performance measures related to impaired driving, including measures

relating to DWI arrests and alcohol related accidents, fatalities and injuries. To the extent that

the hotline provides useful information and/or serves as an additional deterrent to potential im-

paired drivers, this bill could help both departments improve on their performance measures.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The cost to operate the drunkbusters hotline would largely be dependent on call volume, which is

difficult to predict. According to the General Services Department, there is a ten cent-per-minute

charge to operate a toll free number, but no charge to establish the number unless voice mail is

required.

The Department of Public Safety estimates the cost to operate the program would be $500 thou-

sand per year.

Various state agencies operate toll-free numbers and hotlines. The call volume for these num-

bers varies widely. For example, the Department of Health operates a hotline for childhood vac-

cinations and receives approximately 50 calls per week. The department is able to staff this hot-

line with existing staff. In contrast, the Department of Transportation operates the road advisory

hotline, which can receive as many as 15,000 calls in a single day when weather conditions are

poor. This hotline, however, is not answered by a person but rather provides a recorded update

on road conditions.

House Bill 116/aHTRC -- Page 3

Unlike other existing state hotlines, the drunkbusters hotline would have to be staffed on a daily

basis, 24 hours per day. If the hotline were staffed by an employee dedicated solely to the hot-

line, the department would require 4 additional FTEs. Whether or not this staffing level would

indeed be necessary, or sufficient, would depend on call volume.

House Bill 116 would appropriate $350 thousand from the general fund to the DPS for the opera-

tion of the hotline. The appropriation contained in this bill is a recurring expense to general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balances remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall

revert to the general fund.

Because cost will be dependent on call volume, it is difficult to determine if the appropriation

will be sufficient to cover the costs of the phone charges, staffing the hotline, responding to tips,

and conducting effective public outreach. Increased costs to local law enforcement agencies or

the state police to respond to incoming information would not be covered by the appropriation.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DPS will have to adopt regulations for the program and determine the best method for operating

the hotline. DPS will be responsible for determining the best way to respond to tips, which may

require working to dispatch state police and local police officers to follow up on tips as they are

received.

DPS notes that it will determine whether calls should go to one center or be dispatched through

local 911. Local 911 centers may not be equipped to handle the increase in calls which could

impact emergency services.

AOC notes minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution, and documentation of

statutory changes.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Driving while intoxicated remains a serious problem in New Mexico. In FY 03, the ratio of New

Mexico alcohol-related deaths to national alcohol-related deaths per one hundred million vehicle

miles drive and averaged over 5 years was 1.48, indicating that New Mexico’s alcohol related

deaths are significantly higher than the national average. According to Mother’s Against Drunk

Driving, alcohol related deaths accounted for 45% of all traffic deaths in New Mexico.

The Legislature and Governor have taken a number of actions in response to this problem, in-

cluding the establishment of increased penalties for offenders, mandatory counseling, the use of

ignition interlock devices for offenders, the creation of a DWI Czar to coordinate statewide ef-

forts, public education efforts, and use of DWI checkpoints. In addition, the Governor recently

called a judicial summit to discuss some of the obstacles to convicting DWI offenders.

DOT indicates that it funds over 60 law enforcement agencies to enforce impaired driving and

underage drinking laws through checkpoints and saturation patrols. The department writes,

“…because of limited resources, law enforcement agencies are required to target resources to the

highest alcohol related crash locations and many times cannot cover other problem areas of their

community. This bill would likely assist law enforcement in identifying and enforcing secon-

dary problems in their own community, thus, further reducing alcohol related crashes, injuries

House Bill 116/aHTRC -- Page 4

and deaths.” Finally, DOT notes that the bill could have a deterrent effect as drivers and under-

age drinkers would have to be cautious not just for law enforcement but also for the attentive

public.

ALTERNATIVES

DPS suggests that it may be possible to utilize Crime Stoppers in the effort since the program has

reporting procedures in place.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Is the creation of a hotline the best use of appropriated money. Would other approaches, such as

increased educational efforts, increased checkpoints, or increased resources to the courts so that

cases can be prosecuted, be a more effective use of additional funding.

How will the department of public safety work with state and local police departments to re-

spond to tips.

EF/yr