Colorado Legislative Council Staff

STATE and LOCAL

FISCAL IMPACT


Drafting Number:

Prime Sponsor(s):

LLS 99-0895

Rep. Decker

Date:

Bill Status:

Fiscal Analyst:

April 16, 1999

House Judiciary

Kirk Mlinek (303-866-4784)

 

TITLE:            CONCERNING PROHIBITION OF THE PURCHASE OF FIREARMS BY PERSONS ON BEHALF OF OTHER PERSONS WHO ARE INELIGIBLE TO PURCHASE FIREARMS.


Fiscal Impact Summary

FY 1999/2000

FY 2000/2001

State Revenues

General Fund


Fine Revenue


Fine Revenue

State Expenditures

General Fund


 


 

FTE Position Change

0.0 FTE

0.0 FTE

Other State Impact: TABOR

Effective Date: July 1, 1999.

Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: None.

Local Government Impact: See the Local Government Impact section on page 2 of this fiscal note.



Summary of Legislation


            The bill establishes the penalty of class 1 misdemeanor for any person who knowingly purchases or otherwise obtains a firearm on behalf of, or for transfer to, a person who is ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to state or federal law, or who is ineligible to purchase a firearm in Colorado. The bill also requires firearms sellers to post a sign informing the public of the prohibition of such purchases.



State Revenues


            Since the bill creates a new class 1 misdemeanor, there will be an impact on the State General Fund from the amount of fine revenue collected. A class 1 misdemeanor carries a penalty of a $500 to $5,000 fine that is deposited in the State General Fund, and/or a county jail sentence of between six and 12 months. The imposition of a fine, a jail sentence, or both is at the court’s discretion. Sufficient data are not available to determine the number of persons who may commit the infraction targeted by the bill. The amount of any state General Fund fine revenue has not been estimated.



State Expenditures


            The State Public Defender and the Alternate Defense Counsel both assume that additional cases will result if the proposed legislation is enacted. The State Public Defender reports that it can process 31 additional cases prior to incurring additional fiscal impact. The Alternate Defense Counsel is unable to predict the numbers of cases that may be referred by the State Public Defender. For the purpose of this fiscal note, it is assumed that fewer than 31 cases would result from the legislation and that the Alternate Defense Counsel will not require additional resources.



Local Government Impact


            The bill may have an impact on county courts from persons convicted of the proposed class 1 misdemeanor. Current law permits the court to sentence a person convicted of a class 1 misdemeanor to the county jail for a period of between six and 12 months. The court may add a fine to the sentence to the county jail, or may impose the fine in lieu of time in jail. Given the court’s discretion in imposing a sentence, the impact on the county jails cannot be estimated. This fiscal note assumes that the impact to local governments will be minimal.



State Appropriations


            The fiscal note implies that no new state appropriation or spending authority is required for FY 1999-2000 to implement the provisions of the bill.



Departments Contacted

 

            Judicial         Law              Public Defender          Public Safety