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

SPONSOR Swisstack

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/27/08

1/31/08 HM 19/aHJC

SHORT TITLE Study Traffic Offense Adjudicative Procedures

SB

ANALYST Wilson

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY08 FY09 FY10 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$0.1

$0.1

Recurring General Fund

& local funds

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee amendment to House Memorial 19 adds clarifying language by

striking “an amendment to punish" and inserting “punishing" in its place.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Memorial 19

notes that removing criminal penalties, including the possibility of

incarceration in jails, from traffic and driving penalties and instead punishing violations with

civil sanctions could make better use of the resources dedicated to criminal justice without

jeopardizing public safety and without increasing the incarcerated population.

The memorial also notes that an amendment to punish traffic offenses by fines and limitations on

a driver’s credit history and ability to access public utilities could prove to be a lesser drain on

court and incarceration systems.

Therefore, HM 19 resolves that the state commence a statewide study to examine alternative

adjudicative procedures for traffic offenses, that the interim legislative committee that studies

courts and corrections issues study current New Mexico law relating to minor traffic offenses,

report the study’s findings and make recommendations for legislation prior to the first session of

the forty-ninth legislature, and that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and

the co-chairs of the New Mexico Legislative Council.

House Memorial 19/aHJC – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation

of statutory changes. Any fiscal impact on the judiciary would be proportional to the removal of

criminal penalties in exchange for civil sanctions, which would result in a decrease in the use of

court resources.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

In many jurisdictions throughout New Mexico, minor traffic warrants represent more than one-

half of all outstanding warrants.

Research data collected to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of continued criminal

warrant notices have demonstrated that criminal warrants neither represent a deterrent to the

habitual offender's disregard of the traffic codes nor provide increased public safety on the

highways.

Research data indicate that the ever-increasing number of traffic warrants is not reduced until

violators are stopped on other moving violations or other criminal charges.

Currently in Bernalillo County there are an estimated 61,070 warrants for minor traffic

violations.

These violations include failure to pay fines and failure to appear in court.

In 2007, 6,224 persons were booked into the Bernalillo county metropolitan detention center for

traffic-related warrants and minor traffic violations, placing great strain on Bernalillo County’s

sentencing and court systems and Bernalillo County’s metropolitan detention center.

DW/mt