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

SPONSOR Martinez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/20/06

2/1/06 HB

SHORT TITLE Revise Prison Earned Meritorious Deductions

SB 21/aSJC/aSFL#1

ANALYST Peery

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NA

NA

NA

NA

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Sentencing Commission (NMSC)

New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)

No Response From

Adult Parole Board (APB)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SFL#1 Amendment

Senate Floor Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 21 as amended by the Senate Judicial Committee,

adds the following language on page 2, line 21, after the word “offense”: “or failed to pass a drug

test administered as a condition of parole”.

Synopsis of the SJC Amendment

The Senate Judiciary Committee amendment for Senate Bill 21 deletes of the following lan-

guage: “fourth degree aggravated assault, as provided in Section 30-3-2 NMSA 1978; 3) third

degree assault with intent to commit a violent felony, as provided in Section 30-3-3 NMSA

1978; 4) fourth degree aggravated assault against a household member, as provided in Section

30-3-13 NMSA 1978; 5) third degree assault against a household member with intent to commit

a violent felony, as provided in Section 30-3-14 NMSA 1978; 6)”. The amendment also calls for

renumbering the succeeding items. It should be noted the language defining a fourth degree ag-

gravated assault and third degree assault with intent to commit a violent felony as a serious vio-

lent offense is currently in statute.

Senate Bill 21/aSJC/aSFL#1 – Page

2

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Bill 21 amends a section of law regarding award of earned meritorious deductions to state

inmates. The proposed legislation elevates certain assault and battery offenses against household

members to “serious violent offender” status; streamlines the Corrections Department’s adminis-

trative authority to award, forfeit and restore earned meritorious deductions; increases the num-

ber of maximum earned meritorious deductions from eight to 30 per month for non-violent of-

fenders confined for parole revocations excluding absconding and commission of a new felony

offense; clarifies that award of earned meritorious deductions to parolees is available to offend-

ers serving parole on July 1, 2004 or who begin serving parole after that date; and authorizes

award of earned meritorious deductions to non-violent offenders during the first 60 days or re-

ceipt by the Corrections Department.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The NMSC estimates the proposed legislation would free up to an additional 81 beds for the Cor-

rections Department. The latest figure on average cost per day to house an inmate in the New

Mexico Corrections Department is $81.83 in FY04. The estimated savings to the Corrections

Department is $2,419,303. However, due to most correctional facilities for males being near and

for female over capacity it is likely the additional 81 beds will be filled quickly.

NMCD reports the proposed legislation will slow the rate of prison growth by allowing non-

violent technical parole violators to be released or discharged from prison earlier because of

earning larger amounts of good time, up to 30 days per month, while serving their parole time in

prison. However, the proposed legislation does make change certain assault and battery offenses

against household members to “serious violent offender” status that allow convicted offenders to

earn at most only four days per month of good time instead of up to 30 days per month.

NMCD states the proposed legislation would assist the department in reducing its parole

caseloads by allowing an additional group of offenders, those who are currently serving a parole

term as of July 1, 2004 or who begin serving a parole term after July 1, 2004, to be eligible to

earn good time.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Senate Judiciary Committee amendment allows for individuals with fourth degree aggra-

vated assault, third degree assault with intent to commit a violent felony, fourth degree aggra-

vated assault against a household member, and third degree assault against a household member

with intent to commit a violent felony are eligible to earn up to 30 days per month of time served

during a parole term following revocation. NMCD reports the amendment appears to remove

these crimes from being considered serious violent offenses under judges’ discretion or as de-

fined as a serious violent offense within the proposed legislation. If so, NMCD states it removes

these crimes from ever being considered serious violent offenses.

Offenders currently do not earn earned meritorious deductions during the first 60 days in prison.

NMSC estimates, if the current earned meritorious deduction policy was revised to allow credit

to be earned the first 60 days of a non-violent offender’s sentence, on average an inmate’s time

serve would be reduced by 29.2 days. It is estimated that this would free up to an additional 81

beds for the Corrections Department. On November 30, 2005 there were 129 male inmate beds

available and female inmates were over capacity by 58 beds. NMCD reported there were 71

general population beds available at the end of November 2005.

Senate Bill 21/aSJC/aSFL#1 – Page

3

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

NMCD reports by being able to more quickly reduce the number of nonviolent offenders in the

prison system the prison staff would have more time and resources to devote to the safe opera-

tion of prisons and housing of inmates still in prison.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMCD reports the proposed legislation would give the department the administrative flexibility

and efficiency to:

•

Allow inmates to become eligible for earned meritorious deductions by actively participating

in programs recommended by the classification supervisor and approved by the warden’s

designee, instead of requiring that the programs be recommended by only the entire classifi-

cation committee and approved by only the warden.

•

Allow inmates to earn good time based on the recommendations of the classification supervi-

sor and the approval of the warden’s designee, instead of requiring that good time be

awarded when recommended by only the entire classification committee and approved by

only the warden.

•

Have the warden’s designee determine if a locked downed inmate (unable to program)

should continue to be awarded good time, instead of requiring that only the warden make that

determination.

•

Have the classification supervisor and the warden’s designee make recommendations as to

the number of days of lump sum awards for inmates, instead of requiring that only the classi-

fication committee and only the warden make those recommendations.

•

Have the designee of the director of the adult prisons division approve or determine lump

sum awards, instead of requiring that only the director himself make those approvals or de-

terminations.

•

Deny eligibility for good time to any prisoner not actively participating in programs recom-

mended and approved by classification supervisor, instead of requiring that the programs be

recommended and approved by the entire classification committee.

•

Forfeit up to 90 days of an inmate’s good time based on the recommendation of the classifi-

cation supervisor and the final approval of the warden’s designee, instead of requiring rec-

ommendations from only the classification committee and final approval from only the war-

den.

•

Forfeit more than 90 days of an inmate’s good time based on the recommendations of the

classification supervisor and the warden’s designee and the final approval of the designee of

the director of the adult prisons division, instead of requiring the recommendations of the en-

tire classification committee and the warden and the final approval of only the director.

•

Restore lost good time based on the recommendation of the classification supervisor, the ap-

proval of the warden’s designee, and the final approval of the director of the adult prisons di-

vision, instead of requiring the recommendations of the entire classification committee, the

approval of only the warden, and the final approval of only the secretary of corrections.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

The proposed legislation incorporates components of Senate Bill 599, Senate Bill 600 and Senate

Bill 601 from the 2005 legislative session.

RLP/mt:yr