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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Gardner
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/21/08
HB 178
SHORT TITLE 9
th
District Community Prosecutions Program
SB
ANALYST Ortiz
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$50.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 178 appropriates $50 thousand from the general fund to Ninth District Attorney for
the purpose of implementing and maintaining community prosecution programs.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $50 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall revert
to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
“Community prosecution" is a term used across the country to describe responsibilities that the
DA’s office is taking on outside of the courtroom. Community Prosecution involves a long-
term, proactive partnership among the prosecutor’s office, law enforcement, the community and
public and private organizations, whereby the authority of the prosecutor’s office is used to
prevent crime, solve problems, improve public safety, educate the public and enhance the quality
of life of community members. Community prosecution can address all types of crime; from
quality of life crimes to serious crimes. Over half of the prosecutor offices in the country are
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House Bill 178 – Page
2
involved in community prosecution. According to the US Department of Justice, community
prosecution techniques are becoming “business as usual."
The 9
th
Judicial District Attorney’s office is involved in numerous community prosecution
programs, including but not limited to, MethWatch, Newman Project (a project to protect
seniors), Abolish Chronic Truancy, drug court, Pre-pros programs, Youth Resource Team of
Curry County, Teen Court, Law Enforcement Explorers, gun safety, graffiti clean-up programs,
Host program (reading to students), Hartley House board and programs (protect battered
women), Rescue 911 (providing cell phones to contact the police), serving on various civic
boards and committees, and Shoplift a Cop (Christmas gifts for children).
We are also looking into other potential programs including, but not limited to, vehicle/home/
asset seizure programs, domestic violence court, re-entry programs, junior district attorney
programs, crime prevention through environmental design, nuisance abatement (motel rental
agreement / apartment rental agreement), positive youth activity development / park
development, scrap metal theft prevention programs, and gang intervention programs.
In the Abolish Chronic Truancy program alone, the DA’s office gave presentations last semester
on the importance of staying in school in more than 20 schools in our community. The DA’s
office has produced informational pamphlets, videos, posters and has been involved in radio
advertisement related to the importance of school. The goal is to reduce chronic truancy by
educating students about school and about the problems that a student will face if he/she does not
complete school. This in turn will reduce the number of delinquent offenses in our community.
The DA’s office is interested in helping schools provide incentives for student’s attendance.
Through community donations, the DA’s office is giving away prizes to students who have
perfect attendance.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The bill would significantly assist the DA’s office in the implementation and maintenance of the
above discussed programs.
EO/mt