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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Carraro
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/21/08
HB
SHORT TITLE Sex Offender Definitions & Registration
SB 204
ANALYST Wilson
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY08
FY09
FY10 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
Minimal Minimal Minimal Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Bernalillo County Metro Court
Public Defender Department (PDD)
Sentencing Commission (SC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 204 requires sex offenders to register with local authorities within 72 hours instead of
10 days, including visitors to the state, new residents and those released from custody. It also
requires 72-hour notice to authorities of any changes of residency, employment or schooling
including notification to the county sheriff with whom the offender last registered.
The bill will require sex offenders to re-register every ninety days. It will require a sex offender
moving to another state to provide the local sheriff with the new address to which s/he is moving.
The bill also requires sex offenders to provide information about all vehicles driven by the
offender to authorities when registering. Offenders under existing law are required to register
annually for 10 years, but this bill requires them to re-register every 90 days for 20 years. Failure
to comply with these registration conditions is a fourth-degree felony.
The bill also adds aggravated indecent exposure and enticement of a child to the list of crimes
the Department of Public Safety maintains on its life time sex offender registration.
pg_0002
Senate Bill 204 – Page
2
The bill further amends the NMSA to clean up language and to insert appropriate gender-neutral
language in the Sex Offender Registration Act.
This bill has an emergency clause.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation
of statutory changes. New laws, amendments to existing laws and new hearings have the
potential to increase caseloads in the courts, thus requiring additional resources to handle the
increase.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The bill provides for criminal penalties for noncompliance with the registration requirements as
follows:
•
Willfully or knowingly failing to comply, fourth degree felony;
•
Second or subsequent failure, third degree felony; and
•
Willfully or knowingly providing false information while complying, fourth degree
felony
•
Second or subsequent provision of false information, third degree felony.
The New Mexico Sentencing Commission has raised enforcement issues.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The courts are participating in performance-based budgeting. Due to changes in sex offender
registration requirements, additional prosecutions for noncompliance may result, thus, this bill
may have an impact on the measures of the district courts in the following areas:
•
Cases disposed of as a percent of cases filed; and
•
Percent change in case filings by case.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
There may be an administrative impact on the courts as the result of an increase in caseload
and/or in the amount of time necessary to dispose of cases.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
pg_0003
Senate Bill 204 – Page
3
The SC asks the following questions:
•
H
ow will the public know a visitor is an offender.
•
How will the visitor know they should register.
DW/mt