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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Varela
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
2/23/07
HB 1163
SHORT TITLE Santa Fe Youth Court For School Offenses
SB
ANALYST Wilson
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$300.0
Recurring
General Fund
(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
$0.1
$0.1
$0.1 Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB 891
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 1163 appropriates $300,000 from the general fund to the PED
for the development
and implementation by the Santa Fe public school district of a Santa Fe youth court as an
alternative method to deal with school-based offenses.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $300,000 for expenditure in fiscal years 2008 through 2010 contained in
this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance
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House Bill 1163 Page
2
remaining at the end of fiscal year 2010 shall revert to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Teen courts, also known as youth or peer courts, are considered one of the fastest growing
juvenile prevention and intervention programs in the county. They are rapidly gaining popularity
as an alternative to juvenile justice and are considered a primary diversion option for young
offenders in the juvenile justice system. Teen courts offer an adjudicatory venue in which
nonviolent and, usually, first-time offenders are sentenced by their peers.).
If funded, the Santa Fe Teen Court will collaborate with the Santa Fe Public Schools to
implement this program. The Santa Fe Teen Court program started in 1994 and has been serving
teens and their families for 12 years now. The Santa Fe Teen Court served 327 teens and families
in 2005 and 557 in 2006. Teen Court serves as a base to save lives. It keeps teens out of regular
court and out of the detention center. The Santa Fe Teen Court is a first-time offenders program
with alternative sentencing such as:
• Community service
• Serving on the jury
• Mandatory DWI prevention class
• Letter of apology
• And other educational components such as our Substance abuse program.
Santa Fe Teen Court’s main focus is substance use prevention including:
• Assessment
• Drug Testing
• Counseling
• Group sessions
• Family Night
• Reality Program.
Teen court is able to provide this cost-effective alternative to traditional punitive action largely
through the help of volunteers, both adult and other juveniles.
HB 1163 will provide alternative methods to dealing with school-based offenses, such as
tardiness and absenteeism, which may result in an increase in attendance and a decrease in
dropout rates for public school youth. HB 1163 could possibly lead to a decrease in dropout and
truancy rates, increase academic success and close the achievement gap for all students.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
PED is the administrative agent for this bill. PED will need to set up the budget, flow the funds
to Santa Fe Public Schools, monitor the funds and process cash requests made by the school
district. PED will be able to monitor these funds with existing staff.
DW/csd