Fiscal Impact Summary	FY 1999/2000	FY 2000/2001
State Revenues General Fund
State Expenditures General Fund		-$62,432
FTE Position Change	0.0 FTE	0.0 FTE
Other State Impact: None.
Effective Date: Upon signature of the Governor.
Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: None.
Local Government Impact: None.

The bill prohibits the courts courts from sentencing a person who is 65 years of age or older to the Department of Corrections, unless the person is convicted of a class 1 felony, of a crime of violence, as a sex offender, or as an habitual offender. Requires the courts to impose an alternative sentence on eligible offenders.

The bill directs the chairperson of the State Board of Parole to promulgate and adopt rules for expedited parole procedures for inmates 65 years of age and older who were not convicted of a class 1 felony, of a crime of violence, as a sex offender, or as an habitual offender. The bill allows eligible inmates that are denied parole, to reapply every six months.

The bill would have a fiscal impact on expenditures to the Department of Corrections. There would be a decrease in the number of offenders incarcerated in the DOC as a result of this bill. According to data from the Department of Corrections, in FY 1997-98 there were 20 offenders who were 65 years of age or older admitted to prison. Of these offenders, 17 would not be eligible under this bill because of their current sentence or prior convictions (i.e. class 1 felony offenses, sex offenses, or offenses constituting a crime of violence). The remaining three offenders would qualify for an alternative sentence to be considered by the court, resulting in bed savings to the DOC. Of these offenders, one was admitted for a class 3 felony for Schedule I or II drug distribution with a six year sentence, one was admitted for a class 4 felony for distribution of marijuana and received a five year sentence, and the other offender was admitted for a class 5 felony for forgery and received a one year sentence. It is estimated that beginning in FY 2000-01, there would be an ADA (Average Daily Attendance) savings of 2.59 beds in the DOC. This bed savings slightly increases each year until FY 2003-04 when these three offenders have decayed out of the system, having a net ADA savings of 5.26 beds. The reason for this change is based on estimated lengths of stay and projected sentences for offenders who without this legislation would receive a sentence to the DOC. The breakdown for each of the next five fiscal years is illustrated in the table below.

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 bill also requires an expedited parole process for offenders aged 65 or older and for those denied parole a provision allowing for re-application for parole every six months. Currently, the Parole Board takes into account the criteria specified in the bill, including the age of the offender and their potential danger to the community. This procedure does not allow the current aged offenders to be eligible for parole at an earlier date, therefore offenders currently incarcerated in the DOC would not be impacted from this legislation. There would be additional workload on the State Board of Parole if parole eligible offenders choose to reapply for parole release every six months. According to the DOC, the State Board of Parole would have approximately 15 to 20 additional release hearings each year. This assumes that between 50 percent and 75 percent of those eligible would reapply every six months. The impact from this portion of the proposed legislation is estimated to be minimal.

It should be noted that although the bill results in bed savings to the DOC, there is a current backlog of inmates in the county jails waiting for placement in the DOC. Therefore, the beds that would become vacant as a result of this bill would be filled with inmates sentenced to prison for offenses not applicable under this bill. It should also be noted that while we are able to estimate the number of bed savings based on current admissions to the DOC, it is difficult to determine the number of offenders that would have gone to the DOC under current law in future years.

This fiscal note implies that no additional spending authority or appropriation would be required in FY 1999-00 to implement the provisions of the bill.

FIVE-YEAR FISCAL IMPACT ON CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Fiscal Year	ADA Impact	Construction Cost	Operating Cost	Total Cost
FY 1999-2000	0.0	$0	$0	$0
FY 2000-2001	(2.59)	0	(62,432)	(62,432)
FY 2001-2002	(4.59)	0	(110,642)	(110,642)
FY 2002-2003	(5.26)	0	(126,792)	(126,792)
FY 2003-2004	(5.26)	0	(126,792)	(126,792)
TOTAL		$0	($426,658)	($426,658)