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

SPONSOR

Chasey

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/07

1/26/07 HB

191/aHJC

SHORT TITLE

Appropriation for Comprehensive Background

Investigations for Criminal Defendants

SB

ANALYST C.Sanchez

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$400.00 Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

FY09

$400.00

Non-Recurring Bernalillo County

Metropolitan Court

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court (BMC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

On page 1, line 19, the amendment strikes “comprehensive" and inserts in lieu thereof “criminal

and motor vehicle department".

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 191 appropriates $400,000 in FY08 from the general fund to the Bernalillo County

House Bill 191/aHJC – Page

2

Metropolitan Court to hire staff and related expenses to perform more comprehensive

background investigations of criminal defendants, who are arraigned and/or posting bonds at the

Metropolitan Court.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court’s estimated proposed operating budget impact is as

follows:

. 5 full time Background Investigators @ $53,630 per employee

. 1 full time Judicial Supervisor @ $53,630

. 1 full time Pretrial Services Supervisor @ $60,120

. Total cost of the 7 full time employees @ $381,900

. Education and Training of staff @ $2,800

. Equipment, supplies and database fees @ $15,300

. TOTAL -- $400,000

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

When Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judges are making decisions to release, detain, set

appropriate bond and/or conditions of release for a criminal defendant, the only information

provided to them is from the Metropolitan Court’s database. Judges would be better able to

evaluate community safety and flight risk issues when deciding whether to release or detain a

defendant by providing them with statewide and national criminal histories and any pending

criminal cases. This would allow the Judges to identify those defendants who are violent felons,

habitual offenders, including repeat domestic violence or “driving while intoxicated" offenders,

or who have felony warrants from other states or other jurisdictions in New Mexico.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Currently, the Metropolitan Court only has the resources to conduct local warrant searches on the

National Crime Information Center (“NCIC") database and on the Court’s own database for

criminal defendants who are being booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. If the

Metropolitan Court were awarded the proposed appropriation of $400,000, it would permit the

Court to augment its current program and increase community safety by making it possible to

hire, train and equip seven (7) additional staff members and expand the Court’s background

investigation procedures.

This appropriation would allow the Court to check the following additional records for all

criminal defendants:

(1) Local and national warrants on NCIC;

(2) Metropolitan Court criminal history;

(3) NCIC criminal history;

(4) New Mexico State Probation & Parole;

(5) pending Federal cases and Federal probation;

(6) New Mexico State Judiciary database;

(7) Motor Vehicle Division database; and

(8) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Wanted List.

House Bill 191/aHJC – Page

3

In addition, the Court would be able to notify other governmental agencies of the new offense(s)

with which any criminal defendant is charged.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

See previously noted implications.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Status quo. The following table provides four examples of the criminal histories that would have

gone undetected using the current investigation procedures versus the proposed procedures:

DEFENDANT

NO.

CHARGE CURRENT PROCEDURES PROPOSED PROCEDURES

1

•

Fraud

•

No criminal history

•

12 misdemeanor arrests

ranging from shoplifting to

prohibited acts in four

different states with 1

misdemeanor conviction.

•

8 felony arrests ranging from

kidnapping, rape, grand

larceny and burglary in four

different states with 2 felony

convictions.

2

•

DWI (1

st

) •

DWI (1

prior conviction)

•

2 misdemeanor arrests out of

state.

•

11 out of state felony arrests

ranging from drugs,

residential burglary to

burglary with 3 felony

convictions.

3

•

DWI (3

rd

) •

DWI (2 prior convictions)

•

Additional DWI conviction

from a different state.

•

6 felony arrests with two rape

charges in two different

states and a sexual abuse

charge in a 3

rd

state with 3

felony convictions.

4

•

Aggravated

DWI (2

nd

)

•

DWI (1 prior conviction and

revoked license)

•

2 additional DWIs in other

NM counties.

•

14 felony arrests in six

different states with 5 felony

convictions in 4 states.

CS/sb