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 |
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FTE Position Change |
0.0 FTE |
0.0 FTE |
Other State Impact: TABOR |
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Effective Date: July 1, 1999. |
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Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: None. |
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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