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

SPONSOR Cervantes

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1-23-06

2-14-06 HB 179/aSPAC/SJC

SHORT TITLE Methamphetamine Trafficking Penalties

SB

ANALYST McOlash/Earp

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Corrections Department (CD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SJC Amendment

The Senate Judiciary Amendment restores language “excluding private property and residentially

zoned or used primarily as a residence” giving these properties the same standing as “drug free

school zones.”

Synopsis of SPAC Amendment

The Senate Public Affairs Committee Amendment makes grammatical adjustments to the lan-

guage in the bill extending the definition of a drug-free school zone to include parochial school

or private school property or property that is used for parochial school or private school pur-

poses.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 179 amends the Controlled Substance Act to include the distribution, sale, barter or

giving away of methamphetamine, its salts, isomers and salts of isomers and the possession with

intent to distribute methamphetamine, its salts, isomers and salts of isomer in the definition of

“trafficking”.

House Bill 179/aSPAC/aSJC – Page 2

The bill expands a drug-free school zone to include private and parochial schools and no longer

excludes private property residentially zoned or used primarily as a residence from the definition

of a drug-free school zone.

The effective date is July 1, 2006.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The CD indicates trafficking methamphetamine (within or outside a drug-free school zone) is

likely to increase the overall number of convictions, and could have a moderate to substantial

negative fiscal impact on the Corrections Department. Department costs will increase due to in-

creased prison populations and increased probation/parole caseloads.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Individuals who intend to traffic methamphetamine are guilty of a second degree felony for a

first offense and of a first degree felony for a second and subsequent offense. This will increase

the number of individuals charged with and convicted of trafficking.

BMC/yr:nt