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

SPONSOR McSorley

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/06/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Restorative Justice Programs

SB SJM 2

ANALYST Hanika Ortiz

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$.1

see narrative

Recurring

Local

Governments

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 2 requests CYFD and the Corrections Department (CD) to incorporate

and implement restorative justice programs for juvenile and adult offenders as a method to help

heal victims of crime, reduce recidivism, facilitate offender reintegration and provide alternatives

to incarceration.

The Memorial further requests CYFD and CD report their progress in incorporating and

implementing restorative justice programs for juvenile and adult offenders to the appropriate

interim legislative committee by November 1, 2007.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Restorative justice programs are known to reduce costs to the criminal justice system by

providing alternatives to incarceration and decreasing judicial caseloads. However, the bill

provides no supplemental funding to help address the additional burden placed on CYFD and CD

to manage the program.

CYFD has funded restorative justice services in the past in the communities of Ruidoso,

Roswell, Albuquerque, Taos, Silver City, and Los Alamos. This program was a “reentry circle"

with the victim, relatives, and community representatives in participation. The funding for this

Senate Joint Memorial 2 – Page

2

service was through the New Mexico Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee from a federal grant

allocated to New Mexico.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Restorative justice programs can provide unique opportunities for the offender, victim, and

community to redefine their mutual roles and heal their relationship, in turn easing the anxiety

and isolation of re-entry that can lead to re-offense and recidivism. In addition, restorative justice

programs are fast becoming a preferred alternative to school suspension, expulsion and juvenile

incarceration in the case of young offenders.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

This memorial positively impacts the Governor’s Healthy New Mexico policy initiative Task 4.3

- Provide enhanced services for high-risk and high-need individuals.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The bill will have a significant administrative impact on Agency staff and resources.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Restorative justice programs typically deal with nonviolent crimes and involve approaches such

as victim-offender conferences led by trained facilitators, that allow a victim to meet the offender

and discuss both the crime and how the offender will make amends. Another approach is with

victim impact panels, which allow victims and perpetrators of similar offenses to meet in groups

to discuss the effects of the crimes. Participation by offenders may be voluntary or mandatory

and may occur before or after formal sentencing. If an offender complies with a program’s

provisions, the charges against them may be reduced or dismissed.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

There is no provision within the bill to require Agencies to obtain an independent calculation of

recidivism rates once programs are implemented.

There is also no reference to the AGO’s involvement as usually Assistant District Attorney

positions serve as the coordinators of these programs.

ALTERNATIVES

Explore additional federal grant funding available as in the past and secure additional state

funding either through this bill or other avenues.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The state may be missing an opportunity to provide alternatives to incarceration, particularly for

juvenile offenders.

AHO/csd