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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to HB 227

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

The bill repeals Sections 9-3-10 through 9-3-10.2, thereby abolishing the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council.

Significant Issues

By abolishing the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, New Mexico will lose a cost effective, professional and multi-constituent criminal justice advisory body.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

By abolishing the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (CJJCC), the state would save $214,000 from the general fund. The funding is broken down as follows:

• In-state travel $12,000

• Out-of-state travel $2,000

• Contract services $200,000

Contract services cover administrative and research support for the CJJCC's work.

CJJCC reports, this apparent saving from the general fund should be balanced against additional income and cost-savings for the state that have been, and could continue to be, generated by the Council's existence:

• In 1997, a CJJCC report to the legislature on the proposed new secure facility for juvenile offenders was critical in revising the estimates for the number of beds needed. CYFD was proposing a 150 or 200 bed facility. The CJJCC's research revealed a flaw in CYFD's projections and led to a revised estimate of 100 beds. That decision alone saved the state several million dollars.

• House Bill 227 (Earned Time), which has been introduced in the current session, was drafted by the CJJCC as a part of a larger sentencing package. Its enactment will bring the state one million dollars per year over the next several years in federal funding to corrections.

• House Bill 225 (Sentencing Standards), which has also been introduced in the current session, would divert some non-violent felons from prison to intermediate sanctions, at a savings of at least seven million dollars per year.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

CJJCC reports it has 23 members, representing the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and concerned citizens' groups. These members serve on a voluntary basis, merely receiving travel and per diem reimbursements for attendance at CJJCC meetings, as provided by state law.

Administrative and research services are provided under contract to the CJJCC.

Thus, the repeal of the CJJCC would not eliminate any state personnel.

CONFLICT/DUPLICATION/COMPANIONSHIP/RELATIONSHIP

According to CJJCC, SB 621 relates to HB 227 (Earned Time Act) and in some senses conflicts with it. The Earned Time Act requires the Council to monitor and report on the meritorious deductions awarded to prisoners each year. Thus SB 621 would eliminate the Council, while HB 227 assumes its continued existence.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Policy Development

According to CJJCC, Section 9-3-10 NMSA 1978 requires the Council to make a thorough study of sentencing and related matters, such as prison and nonprison sanctions. To that end, the Council has developed a comprehensive set of proposals for sentencing reform. These proposals were unanimously endorsed by the Interim Courts, Corrections and Criminal Justice Committee and have been introduced in the current legislative session (see House Bills 225, 226, 227, 282). If enacted these bills would signify the first major sentencing reforms in New Mexico in more than 20 years.

Also, Section 9-3-10 NMSA 1978 also charges the Council with reviewing the criminal code and making recommendations for reform. The Council presented four criminal code proposals in the 1997 legislative session, and has introduced two more during the current session (HB 371, Equitable Schedule of Sentencing for Property Offenses; HB 429, Extending Probation Time for Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Offenders).

CJJCC reports the Council is uniquely constituted and positioned to develop major proposals for criminal justice reform because:

• It can make a comprehensive examination of the issues, backed by research.

• The Council's members include prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement professionals, juvenile justice professionals and victims' advocates, who present and work toward agreement on their respective professional viewpoints.

Thus, most of the Council's work differs in scope and depth from other proposals for criminal justice reform. The objective in setting up the Council was clearly to create a multi-constituent body that would look at the key issues in criminal and juvenile justice. The Council has done that, and can continue to do so.

Research

Sound policy development is based on good information. The Council has consistently sought to compile, use and make available information on the state's criminal justice system and on criminal justice matters in other states. The results of these studies are usually presented as working papers for council members and other interested parties, and many of them are also available on the Council's web site (http://www.unm.edu/~isrnet/cjjcc/). To date, the Council has produced 27 working papers, and three more are nearing completion.

The Council is the only state agency that has produced baseline data on:

• convictions and sentencing in New Mexico

• prisons, including the characteristics of New Mexico's prison population, and good time

• juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice, including juvenile referrals

The Council's working paper on juveniles and firearms in New Mexico won a national federal award for research excellence in 1998.

In much of the research, the Council uses information drawn from computerized databases at other state agencies (district attorneys, corrections department, CYFD), thereby greatly reducing the cost of information gathering.

The Future

In 1998, the CJJCC developed a long range plan for the period FY99-FY03 that was approved by the executive. The plan envisages the following:

• Monitor the implementation of sentencing legislation enacted during the 1999 legislative session

• Develop comprehensive proposals for delinquency prevention and early intervention with juveniles (for the legislative session in FY01).

• Continue to develop proposals for criminal code reform.

By abolishing the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, New Mexico will lose a cost effective, professional and multi-constituent criminal justice advisory body.

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