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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Fox-Young
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/29/07
HB 520
SHORT TITLE Life Imprisonment with No Parole
SB
ANALYST Peery-Galon
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
NFI
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY07
FY08
FY09 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
NA Unknown Unknown Unknown Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Responses Received From
New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
New Mexico Sentencing Commission (NMSC)
Public Defenders Department (PDD)
Response Not Received From
Administrative Office of the District Attorney (AODA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 520 amend Section 31-18-23 NMSA 1978 to require individuals convicted of three
designated violent felonies, first degree felonies resulting in the death of a child, two violent sex-
ual offenses or a capital felony to serve life sentences of 30 years without possibility of parole.
The proposed legislation also amends Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978 to eliminate the duties and
finding required of the Parole Board for these types of offenses.
pg_0002
House Bill 520 – Page
2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
NMCD notes there is no appropriation in the proposed legislation. NMCD reports that in the
long term, the proposed legislation could result in minor to moderate increases in costs to the de-
partment. NMCD reports that in approximately 30 years, the proposed legislation could result in
substantial increases in costs to the department resulting for the need to house these offenders
who might otherwise have been released on parole. NMCD states the proposed legislation will
increase costs in medical treatment as these inmates sentenced to life without possibility of pa-
role become elderly. NMCD reports the annual cost of incarcerating an inmate is $23,867 per
year for males and $21,651 per year for females. The cost per client in probation and parole for
a standard supervision program is $1,467 per year, for an intensive supervision program is
$3,383 per year, for a NMCD community corrections program is $3,503 per year, for a privately-
owned community corrections program is $7,917 per year, and for male and female residential
community corrections program is $39,401 per year.
AOC states the proposed legislation will add a minimal administrative cost for statewide updates,
distribution and documentation of statutory changes. AOC notes any additional fiscal impact on
the judiciary would be proportional to the enforcement of this law and commenced prosecutions.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
NMCD reports inmates who are sentenced to prison with no possibility of parole are much more
likely to be a management problem. NMCD states these inmates have no incentive to comply
with prison rules or regulations.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
NMCD states the proposed legislation, in the short and long term, could result in minimal to
moderate increase in administrative burden upon prison personnel who may be required to ad-
dress problems associated with a more difficult to manage group of inmates.
AOC reports new laws, amendments to existing laws and new hearings have the potential to in-
crease caseloads in the courts requiring additional resources to handle the increase.
PDD states legislation resulting in increased sentences always create the possibility that more
criminal defendants will proceed to trail instead of accepting a plea offer. PDD reports this will
result in an increased caseload and additional court time for the department’s attorneys. PDD
also states because of the severity of the sentence, sentences resulting in the imposition of life or
life without the possibility of parole will be appealed, possible increasing appellate caseload for
the department, the Attorney General’s Office, and the appellate courts.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
The proposed legislation is a duplication of Senate Bill 468; however, Senate Bill 468 has a dif-
ferent short title of “No Parole for Life Imprisonment." The proposed legislation is also a com-
panion to Senate Bill 467.
pg_0003
House Bill 520 – Page
3
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
PDD notes the companion bill Senate 467 amends Section 31-18-23 NMSA 1978 to add addi-
tional convictions for which a defendant may receive a life sentence. PDD states Senate Bill 467
would greatly increase the number of offenses included under the definition of violent felony.
RPG/nt