Colorado Legislative Council Staff

STATE

FISCAL NOTE

State General Fund Expenditure Impact


Drafting Number:

Prime Sponsor(s):

LLS 98-004

Sen. Hernandez

Date:

Bill Status:

Fiscal Analyst:

January 14, 1998

Senate Judiciary

Susan Colling (866-4784)

 

TITLE:            CONCERNING INCREASING THE LENGTH OF SENTENCE FOR PERSONS WHO COMMIT VEHICULAR HOMICIDE WHILE IN IMMEDIATE FLIGHT FROM COMMISSION OF ANOTHER FELONY.



Summary of Legislation


            This bill requires a judge to sentence a defendant convicted of vehicular homicide to a minimum of the midpoint of the presumptive sentencing range but not more than twice the maximum term if the defendant was fleeing from the commission of another felony at the time the vehicular homicide occurred.


            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


$0


$3,840

FTE Position Change

None

None

Local Government Impact — None



State Expenditures


            This bill would impact General Fund expenditures in the Department of Corrections (DOC). The number of admissions to prison would not change, however, there would be an impact on the lengths of stay for offenders sentenced to the DOC. Further, it is assumed that offenders sentenced at or above the midpoint of the presumptive range would not change under this legislation.


            Class 3- Vehicular Homicide. Based on data from the DOC, ten offenders in FY 1996-97 were convicted of a class 3 felony for vehicular homicide and were sentenced below the midpoint of the presumptive range (ten years), with an overall sentence average of 70.8 months. Class 3 extraordinary offenses are projected to serve 55.8 percent of their sentence, therefore, these ten offenders would be expected to have a length of stay of 39.5 months.



            Class 4 - Vehicular Homicide. According to the DOC data, three offenders in FY 1996-97 were convicted of a class 4 felony for vehicular homicide and sentenced below the midpoint of the presumptive range (five years), with an overall sentence length of 36 months. Class 4 extraordinary offenses are projected to serve 57.5 percent of their sentence, thus, a projected length of stay for these three offenders would be 20.7 months.


            The DOC data does not specify whether these 13 offenders were fleeing from the commission of another felony at the time the vehicular homicide occurred. It is assumed that only two offenders every five years would receive an increased sentence at or above the midpoint of the presumptive range under the proposed legislation. Of these two offenders, it is assumed that one offender would be sentenced for a class 3 felony and one offender would be sentenced for a class 4 felony.


            The midpoint of the presumptive range for a class 3 felony is 120 months and 60 months for a class 4 felony. It is assumed that offenders would continue to serve the same proportion of their sentence in prison. The projected length of stay for an offender sentenced for a class 3 felony under the proposed bill is 67 months (or 55.8% of sentence served) and 34.5 months (or 57.5% of sentence served) for an offender sentenced for a class 4 felony.



Five-Year Fiscal Impact on Correctional Facilities


            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. Projected construction costs for FY 1999-00 are estimated to be $69,811 per bed and operating costs would be $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. Because this assessment is based on Average Daily Admission (ADA), only a portion of construction and operating costs would be needed each year.












FIVE-YEAR FISCAL IMPACT ON CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Fiscal Year

ADA Impact

Construction Cost

Operating Cost

Total Cost

FY 98-99

0.00

$0

$0

$0

FY 99-00

0.00

3,840

0

3,840

FY 00-01

0.06

12,217

1,284

13,501

FY 01-02

0.23

9,890

5,371

15,261

FY 02-03

0.37

13,962

8,679

22,641

Total

---

$39,909

$15,334

$55,243



            The bill would take effect for offenses committed on or after July 1, 1998. This fiscal note allows one year for commission of the offense and sentencing, which would result in the first offenders being sentenced to prison in FY 1999-00. The fiscal impact begins in FY 2000-01 when the first class 4 felony offenders would be released under the current length of stay of 20.7 months.



Spending Authority


            This fiscal note indicates no spending authority is required to implement the bill’s provisions in FY 1998-1999. However, pursuant to 2-2-703 C.R.S., the Department of Corrections would require a five year General Fund appropriation of $55,243 in FY 1999-00.



Departments Contacted


            Department of Corrections

            Department of Public Safety

            Judicial

            Legislative Council Staff

            State Public Defender





FACTS AND ASSUMPTIONS



Facts

 

1.         Projected cost of construction of a medium security bed at the Department of Corrections for FY 1999-00 is $69,811 and the average operating cost per year per bed is $23,352.

 

2.         Based on FY 1996-97 data from the Department of Corrections, ten offenders were sentenced to prison for vehicular homicide as a class 3 felony. The average sentence for these offenders was 70.8 months and were projected to serve 55.8% of their sentence, or 30.5 months.

 

3.         Based on FY 1996-97 data from the Department of Corrections, three offenders were sentenced to prison for vehicular homicide as a class 4 felony. The average sentence for these offenders was 36.0 months and were projected to serve 57.5% of their sentence, or 20.7 months.

 

4.         The midpoint of the presumptive range for a class 3 felony is 120 months, and 60 months for a class 4 felony.



Assumptions

 

1.         It is assumed that offenders sentenced under the proposed legislation would serve the same proportion of their sentence in prison, 55.8 percent for class 3 felony and 57.5 percent for class 4 felony.

 

2.         It is assumed that 2 offenders every five years will be sentenced to the Department of Corrections, one for a class 3 felony and one for a class 4 felony.

 

3.         It is assumed that offenders convicted of a class 3 felony and sentenced to the DOC will have an average length of stay of 67.0 months.

 

4.         It is assumed that offenders convicted of a class 4 felony and sentenced to the DOC will have an average length of stay of 34.5 months.