Colorado Legislative Council Staff

STATE

REVISED FISCAL IMPACT

(replaces fiscal impact dated April 5, 1999)

TITLE:            CONCERNING PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF A CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE, AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.

Summary of Legislation

            The bill states that the transfer into Colorado of persons that have been convicted of or have agreed to a deferred prosecution for a crime in another state who are required to participate in private treatment or rehabilitation programs in this state is a matter of statewide concern. The terms “administrator of the interstate compact,” “chief law enforcement official,” “commissioner,” “interstate compact,” “private treatment program,” “sending state,” “supervised person,” and “unsupervised person” are defined.

            Private treatment programs in Colorado are prohibited from admitting or accepting supervised or unsupervised persons into programs unless the supervised or unsupervised persons have signed a waiver authorizing specific notifications. Sending states are to be in compliance with the Uniform Act for Out-of-State Parolee Supervision and are not to permit or encourage travel of supervised or unsupervised persons to Colorado without written notification of acceptance. Requests for placement in Colorado are required to contain written justification as to why treatment in Colorado is preferable or more beneficial than treatment in the sending state.

            No supervised or unsupervised person may be admitted or accepted by a private treatment program in Colorado unless the program:

            •   is registered with the administrator of the interstate compact;

            •   if the person is unsupervised, has notified the administrator of the interstate compact of the following information:

                        ◦ name, date and place of birth, and social security number;

◦ complete criminal history as determined by a check of the National Criminal Information System;

                        ◦ name and address of any entity having jurisdiction over the person; and

◦ terms/conditions under which the person is required/directed to attend the program; and

            •   if the person is supervised, has confirmed that the sending state has provided all of the information required by the interstate compact.

            Pursuant to the criteria established by the interstate compact, the bill permits the administrator to reject the placement of the supervised or unsupervised person in the private treatment program. If accepted, the administrator is required to immediately notify the director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the appropriate chief law enforcement officer. Not more than 30 days after the effective date of the proposed legislation, the administrator is required to notify all other parties to the interstate compact of the requirements relating to supervised persons.

            Other provisions of the bill include the following:

            •   a local law enforcement agency shall, by written policy, require the supervised or unsupervised person to physically appear for fingerprinting and photographing;

            •   the private treatment facility is required to immediately notify the chief law enforcement official where the program is located and, if supervised, the person’s probation or parole officer at least seven days prior to the release of any person placed in such program;

            •   any treatment facility that violates the aforementioned requirements commits a misdemeanor and, upon first conviction, will be punished by a fine of $500. Second and third convictions will result in fines of $1,000 and $5,000, respectively, with each failure to constitute a separate violation;

            •   directs the administrator of the interstate compact to promulgate rules governing unsupervised persons, including but not limited to, their identification and standards for acceptance or rejection into a private treatment program in Colorado;

            •   directs affected departments to develop proposed legislation governing the licensing of private treatment facilities; and

            •   reduces by $28,530 the General Fund appropriation to the Capital Construction Fund and to the Department of Transportation as a means of funding the cost of implementing the bill (moneys from the General Fund “set aside”).

State Revenues

            The bill establishes the penalty of a misdemeanor for violations of the aforementioned requirements. Moneys collected from any fines are deposited in the State General Fund. The number of times that the provisions of the proposed legislation will be violated, and fines assessed, has not been estimated. However, the amount of any resulting fine revenue is anticipated to be minimal.

State Expenditures

            The provisions of Subsection (6) of the proposed Section 17-27.1-101, C.R.S., would require the administrator to: 1) either reject the placement of the supervised or unsupervised person in the private treatment program; 2) to immediately notify, upon acceptance, the appropriate chief law enforcement official and the director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; and 3) within 30 days after the effective date of the proposed legislation, notify all other parties to the interstate compact of the requirements relating to supervised persons.

            For FY 1999-00, the Department of Corrections (DOC) will require 1.0 FTE at the Administrative Assistant I level to administer the responsibilities noted above. An additional FTE will be added in FY 2000-01. The costs associated with these administrative requirements are summarized in Table 1.

Expenditures Not Included

            Pursuant to the Joint Budget Committee’s budget policies, the following expenditures have not been included in this fiscal note:

            •   health and life insurance costs ($1,776);

            •   short-term disability costs ($43);

            •   inflationary cost factors;

            •   leased space; and

            •   indirect costs.

Local Government Impact

            Although the bill establishes a misdemeanor penalty for programs that do not follow the requirements of the bill, the bill does not create a fiscal impact on local governments. The establishment of new offenses punishable by a misdemeanor frequently provide the court the option to assess a fine, time in a county jail, or both. Section 18-1-108, C.R.S., however, states that:

            “Any felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense defined by state statue without specification of its class shall be punishable as provided in the statute defining it.”

            The bill does not specify a class, hence the only penalty for a program that violates the provisions of the bill is either a fine of $500 for a first offense; $1,000 for a second offense; and $5,000 for a third offense.

State Appropriations

            The fiscal note implies that for FY 1999-00 the Department of Corrections will require a General Fund appropriation of $28,530 and 1.0 FTE.

Departments Contacted

            Public Safety              Corrections