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

SPONSOR M. Sanchez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/20/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Fund

SB 1076

ANALYST Propst

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance and Administration (DFA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 1076 expands the definition of domestic violence offender and thus expands the

eligibility for participants in the domestic violence offender treatment program which is paid for

from the Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Fund (Fund). The Fund is earmarked from

court fees to go to the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) for treatment of

domestic violence offenders. Currently the law defines a domestic violence offender in two ways

and thus allows their treatment to be paid for through the Fund: 1) those convicted for an offense

pursuant to the Crimes Against Household Members Act, 30-3-10 NMSA 1978; and 2) those

convicted of violating an order of protection granted under the Family Violence Protection Act,

40-13-1 NMSA 1978. SB 1076 adds two more definitions to this section and thus expands the

number of persons eligible to receive treatment under the Fund: 1) persons referred to a

treatment program by a domestic violence special commissioner; and 2) persons who participate

in a domestic violence offender treatment program voluntarily. The creation of domestic

violence commissioner is established under the Rules of Civil Procedure for District Courts,

Article 6 Trials/ 1-053.1.

The bill also corrects other appropriate citations of law to conform to these changes.

Senate Bill 1076 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

CYFD currently contracts out these services to 11 domestic violence programs around the state.

CYFD has budgeted $562.0 for FY07 and expects total revenue for FY08 of $660.0. The bill

does not make more money available but allows more offenders to have access to the treatment

programs. CYFD may likely budget more of available revenue on an annual basis, but prudent

fiscal management will require CYFD not budget all available revenue annually.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

CYFD currently contracts these services to 11 domestic violence (DV) programs around the

state. CYFD has budgeted $562.0 in FY07 and expects at total revenue for FY08 of $660.0.

During FY06 these 11 local DV agencies served 1,161 clients using the programs available

under this Fund out of a total 2,226 DV offenders served by these programs. The major reason

for only approximately half of the offenders being served by this Fund is the current requirement

for a person to be first convicted under this statute before they can receive services through the

Fund. Judges are reluctant to convict before the client receives services. With these changes,

judges will be able to refer offenders to programs financed through this Fund before a criminal

conviction. These changes will also allow eligibility to programs funded through this Fund to

offenders that are in civil courts for domestic violence.

This may improve the effectiveness and efficiency of all domestic violence funds in the state.

More domestic violence offenders will be eligible for treatment under this Fund, with its specific

treatment programs and judicial reporting requirements to ensure better outcomes from the

treatment program. Treatment for offenders will be shifted away from other DV programs and

funding that are better geared to domestic violence victims and witnesses of domestic violence.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The LFC notes that SB 1076 does not contain additional funding to support services to the

additional clients that would be eligible for participation in the program. Without additional

funding, providers may not be able to service all eligible clients or will have to somehow reduce

the rate charged per client. The LFC suggests that SB 1076 perhaps be amended to include

language prioritizing new participants based on factors such as number of offences, etc.

WEP/mt