TITLE: CONCERNING EXPANSION OF THE CRIME OF ETHNIC INTIMIDATION, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, CHANGING THE NAME OF THE CRIME TO A HATE CRIME AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

This bill would change the name of crime of ethnic intimidation to a hate crime. Additionally, the bill would expand the crime to include intimidating a person because of that person’s physical or mental disability, age, or sexual orientation.

The bill would take effect July 1, 1998 and would apply to offenses committed on or after that date.

STATE FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY	FY 1998/99	FY 1999/2000
State Revenues General Fund Other Fund
State Expenditures General Fund Other Fund	$69,811*	$43,132*
FTE Position Change	None	None
Local Government Impact — None

* Although this fiscal note indicates that one offender every five years would be sentenced to the DOC and would require an appropriation of $69,811 in FY 1998-99 and a five year appropriation of $49,748, the bill contains a no appropriation clause. The bill indicates that the minor fiscal impact of one offender every five years is relatively insignificant and therefore can be implemented within existing appropriations.

This bill would impact the expenditures of the Department of Corrections (DOC). Since the ethnic intimidation statute was enacted in July 1988, there have been seven commitments to the DOC related to ethnic intimidation. Four of these offenders had more serious offenses, while the remaining three offenders had ethnic intimidation as their most serious offense. In FY 1997, one offender was convicted of ethnic intimidation and admitted to the DOC. It is assumed that by expanding the definition of a hate crime to include mental and physical disabilities, age and sexual orientation, 1.0 additional offender every five years will be sentenced to the DOC as a class 5 felony offender. The average length of stay is projected to be 15.4 months. The expenditure impact to the DOC is provided in the following table.

Pursuant to Section 2-2-703, C.R.S., which requires that bills which would result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment not be passed without five years of appropriations for prison bed construction and operating costs, the following analysis is provided. Construction costs are estimated to be $69,811 per bed and operating costs $23,352 per bed. It should be noted that the construction costs reflect the funding needed to construct the beds in the fiscal year prior to when the additional offenders would enter the system.

The fiscal note indicates that for FY 1998-99, the Department of Corrections should be appropriated $69,811 General Fund, as well as the remaining five year appropriation of $49,748 (pursuant to 2-2-703, C.R.S).

Since the bill contains an exception to the requirements of Section 2-2-703, C.R.S. and a no appropriation clause, the bill assumes that the fiscal impact would be implemented within existing resources.

FIVE-YEAR FISCAL IMPACT ON CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Fiscal Year	ADA Impact	Construction Cost	Operating Cost	Total Cost
FY 98-99	0.00	$69,811	$0	$69,811
FY 99-2000	1.00	19,780	23,352	43,132
FY 2000-2001	0.28	0	6,616	6,616
FY 2001-2002	0.00	0	0	0
FY 2002-2003	0.00	0	0	0
TOTAL		$89,591	$29,968	$119,559