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

SPONSOR Taylor

DATE TYPED 2/10/05

HB 710/aHJC

SHORT TITLE County Detention Facility Reform Act

SB

ANALYST Peery

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$18,835.0

Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

$18,835.0

Recurring County Detention

Facility Reform

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)

No Responses

Attorney General (AG)

Association of Counties

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee amendment removes Section 7 on page 5 that pertains to Sec-

tion 33-3-3 NMSA 1978 being repealed.

House Bill 710aHJC-- Page 2

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 710 appropriates $18,835,031 from the general fund to the newly created County De-

tention Facility Reform fund in the State Treasury to be administered by the New Mexico Cor-

rections Department for the purpose of reimbursing counties for the incarceration of a “state pris-

oner”. The proposed legislation repeals Section 33-3-3 NMSA 1978, which provides that the

county jail shall be used as the place of detention for every person charged with or convicted of

crimes and committed by lawful order.

The proposed legislation sets the rate of reimbursement at eight times the federal hourly mini-

mum wage per day, currently at around $41.20 per day. The proposed legislation requires the

Corrections Department to reimburse counties for the cost of providing ancillary services to

“state prisoners”, such as medical, dental, mental health, vision care, prescription drugs, ambula-

tory, and transportation services.

The proposed legislation appropriates the $18,835,031 in the following ways: $2,181,231 for the

incarceration of probation and parole violators sentenced to detention facilities; $4,433,413 for

the incarceration of state prisoners sentenced to detention facilities; $2,194,671 for the incarcera-

tion of state prisoners sentenced to prison and awaiting transport; and $10,025,716 for the incar-

ceration of unsentenced probation and parole violators.

Significant Issues

NMCD reports a “state prisoner” is defined essentially as a person charged with or convicted of a

felony who:

•

Has violate his parole and is charged with a parole violation;

•

While on parole is charged with a violation of local, state, tribal, federal or international law;

•

Is awaiting transportation and commitment to the Corrections Department following pro-

nouncement of a judgment, sentence or order of confinement;

•

Is charged with a violation of his probation by the department or by a district court;

•

Is sentenced, ordered or removed by the district court to incarceration in a county detention

facility; or

•

Is incarcerated on the basis of an arrest and hold order or a warrant issued by the Corrections

Department.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

NMCD reports the proposed legislation could adversely affect the Department’s ability to pay

contractors on a timely basis because this bill will impose a significant new burden on Central

Office business managers, accounts payable personnel or other designated personnel to keep us

with new billion on hundreds or thousands of “state prisoners” in county jails. However, NMCD

also states the proposed legislation could indirectly result in an improvement in the performance

of the Department prison programs if it slowed the growth rate of the prison population.

House Bill 710aHJC-- Page 3

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $18,835,031 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to

the general fund.

Continuing Appropriations

This bill creates a new fund and provides for continuing appropriations. The LFC objects to in-

cluding continuing appropriation language in the statutory provisions for newly created funds.

Earmarking reduces the ability of the legislature to establish spending priorities.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMCD reports the proposed legislation will result in a substantial increase in the administrative

burden to Central Office Business Manager, accounts payable personnel and other employees

who will have to closely monitor or track the number of “state prisoners” in county jails, and

also verify and pay hundreds of thousands of new claims. NMCD states the proposed legislation

may require that additional FTE be hired by the Department in order to meet the administrative

burden. The Corrections Department feels, even though the proposed legislation states funding

may not be used by the Department for administration, that it would make sense to allow the De-

partment to utilize three percent of the fund to hire FTEs and administer the fund.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

NMCD states the proposed legislation is very similar to SB 162 from the 2004 legislative ses-

sion, and is identical to Senate Bill 517 from the 2005 legislative session.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

NMCD states the definition of “state prisoner” includes those offenders who have only been

charged, but not convicted, of a crime. This is an extremely broad and unusual definition of a

state prisoner. Typically, a person would only become a state prisoner if he or she were first

convicted of a crime.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

NMCD reports that if Section 33-3-3- NMSA 1978 is repealed, there will be no statutory provi-

sion in the law requiring county jails to house persons charged with criminal offenses. NMCD

states the counties might then attempt to argue that they are not obligated to house arrestees or

“state prisoners”, especially if the circumstances arises where the money appropriated to the

County Detention Facility Reform Fund is completely exhausted or expended.

ALTERNATIVES

NMCD suggest the proposed legislation should be amended to expressly limit the Corrections

Department’s liability to reimburse the counties to the amount of the appropriation and other

monies contained in the County Detention Facility Reform Fund.

House Bill 710aHJC-- Page 4

The Corrections Department suggests amending the bill to allow the Corrections Department

flexibility regarding payment of the claims made by the counties. This is in event there are in-

sufficient funds in one category, that the Department has the ability to use some money from an-

other category. NMCD states the bill could also be amended to state that once a particular cate-

gory of money is expended, NMCD has no obligation to pay for any more claims pertaining to

the category.

NMCD suggests amending the bill to allow the Department to utilize three percent of the fund

money to hire FTEs and administer the fund. NMCD further states that if this is not done, the

bill should be amended to state the Local Government Division of DFA should administer the

fund.

Finally, NMCD states that Section 33-3-3 NMSA 1978 should not be appealed, but instead

should be amended to state that the Corrections Department will reimburse the counties for hous-

ing “state prisoners” in accordance with the County Detention Facility Reform Act.

RLP/njw:yr:lg