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

SPONSOR Ryan

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/26/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Sentencing of Violent Felonies

SB 467

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

Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA)

Public Defender Department (PDD)

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 467 amends Section 31-18-23 NMSA 1978, to add the following to the list of violent

felonies in the Criminal Sentencing Act: manslaughter, aggravated assault, assault with intent to

commit a violent felony, aggravated battery, aggravated battery against a household member,

sexual exploitation of children, criminal sexual contact of a minor, aggravated burglary,

aggravated assault upon a peace officer, assault with intent to commit a violent felony upon a

peace officer and aggravated batter upon a peace officer. Senate Bill 467 also expands the scope

of four currently included violent felonies in Section 31-18-23 NMSA 1978. The broadened

scope of violent felonies as follows:

•

Shooting at or from a motor vehicle is expanded to include the entire crime, not just that

Senate Bill 467 – Page

2

crime when it results in great bodily harm;

•

Kidnapping is expanded to include all kidnapping, not just kidnapping resulting in great

bodily harm inflicted upon the victim by the captor;

•

Criminal sexual penetration is expanded to include all forms or levels of criminal sexual

penetration; and

•

Robbery is expanded to include all robbery, not just robbery while armed with a deadly

weapon resulting in great bodily harm.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

NMCD states if a substantial number of individuals begin serving life sentences as a result of the

expansion statute, the department’s prison population is likely to eventually increase by a

moderate to substantial amount. NMCD notes there is no appropriation in the proposed

legislation to cover these potentially very substantial costs.

NMCD states 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 there will be minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and

documentation of statutory changes. AOC reports any additional fiscal impact on the judiciary

would be proportional to the enforcement of this law and appeals from convictions.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

NMCD states the proposed legislation makes it more likely that individuals will be convicted of

the expanded list of violent felonies. NMCD reports this means more individuals, who are now

convicted of three designated violent felonies, will be sentenced to life imprisonment. NMCD

reports life imprisonment means 30 years with no possibility of parole until after 30 years.

NMCD states if the proposed legislation causes moderate to substantial increases in prison

population, it is likely the department will have to build new prisons, expand current prisons or

contract with the private sector to house prisoners.

AOC reports that life imprisonment cases take up a considerable amount of judicial time. AOC

states the proposed legislation may increase the work that needs to be done by the courts,

requiring additional resources to handle the increased workload.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

AOC states the proposed legislation will have an impact on the performance measures: “cases

disposed of as a percent of cases filed" and “percent change in case filings by case type."

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMCD states the proposed legislation will make it difficult for the department to provide its

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3

current level of prison-related services without hiring additional staff or seeking out additional

prison facilities.

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

PDD notes the proposed legislation is a companion bill to Senate Bill 468, which amends Section

31-18-23 NMSA 1978 omitting the provision that imprisonment for a sentence of life may be

subject to parole.

RPG/nt