COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
OVERSIGHT DIVISION
FISCAL NOTE
L.R. No.: 2489-04
Bill No.: Perfected HCS for HB 1152
Subject: Crimes and Punishment; Firearms and Fireworks
Type: Original
Date: March 18, 2004
FISCAL SUMMARY
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| General Revenue | (Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on General Revenue Fund |
(Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) |
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on Other State Funds |
$0 | $0 | $0 |
Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.
This fiscal note contains 4 pages.
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on All Federal Funds |
$0 | $0 | $0 |
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Local Government | $0 | $0 | $0 |
ASSUMPTION
Officials from the Office of the State Courts Administrator, Department of Public Safety - divisions of Missouri State Highway Patrol, Capitol Police and the - State Emergency Management Agency each assume the proposed legislation would have no fiscal impact on their respective agencies.
Officials from the Office of State Public Defender (SPD) assume this proposed legislation will create the new crime of threatening the use of a weapon of mass destruction and computer dissemination of information to promote a terroristic act. New crimes create new cases for the Office of State Public Defender. The exact number of cases affected is too uncertain to provide a definitive dollar amount of fiscal impact. Nevertheless, there will be some impact.
Since the amount of impact is so uncertain, the SPD cannot assume existing staff will be able to provide representation in these cases. However, once the true impact is determined, the SPD will reassess the impact of this legislation. Passage of more than one bill increasing existing penalties, or creating new crimes, will require increased appropriations for the SPD.
Officials from the Office of Prosecution Services (OPS) assume they could absorb any costs arising as a result of this proposal with existing resources.
ASSUMPTION (continued)
Officials from the Department of Corrections (DOC), state this bill revises crimes on terrorism and mass destruction. New penalty provisions are added for up to a class B felony.
DOC states that at this time, they are unable to determine the number of people who would be convicted under the provisions of this bill and therefore the number of additional inmate beds that may be required as a consequence of passage of this proposal. Estimated construction cost for one new medium to maximum-security inmate bed is $55,000. Utilizing this per-bed cost provides for a conservative estimate by the DOC, as facility start-up costs are not included and entire facilities and/or housing units would have to be constructed to cover the cost of housing new commitments resulting from the cumulative effect of various new legislation, if adopted as statute. An increase in commitments depends on the utilization by prosecutors and the actual sentences imposed by the court.
If additional persons are sentenced to the custody of the DOC due to the provisions of this legislation, the DOC will incur a corresponding increase in operational cost either through incarceration (FY03 average of $38.10 per inmate, per day or an annual cost of $13,907 per inmate) or through supervision provided by the Board of Probation and Parole (FY03 average of $3.15 per offender, per day or an annual cost of $1,150 per offender).
In summary, supervision by the DOC through probation or incarceration would result in additional unknown costs to the department. Eight (8) persons would have to be incarcerated per fiscal year to exceed $100,000 annually. Due to the narrow scope of this new crime, DOC assumes the impact would be less than $100,000 per year for their agency.
| FISCAL IMPACT - State Government | FY 2005
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| GENERAL REVENUE FUND | |||
| Costs - Department of Corrections | |||
| Incarceration/probation costs | (Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) | (Less than $100,000) |
| ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE FUND |
(Less than $100,000) |
(Less than $100,000) |
(Less than $100,000) |
| FISCAL IMPACT - Local Government | FY 2005
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| $0 | $0 | $0 |
FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business
No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.
DESCRIPTION
This substitute creates the crimes of threatening the use of a weapon of mass destruction and computer dissemination of information to promote a terrorist act. The substitute defines "threat," "weapon of mass destruction," and "terrorist act." Threatening the use of a weapon of mass destruction is a class C felony for the first offense and a class B felony for second and subsequent offenses. Computer dissemination of information to promote a terrorist act is a class B felony.
The substitute also revises the crime of making a terrorist threat to include threatening conditions that cause serious public inconvenience or terror. The threat may be made by any means.
This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Department of Public Safety
Office of the State Courts Administrator
Office of State Public Defender
Department of Corrections
Office of Prosecution Services
Mickey Wilson, CPA
Director
March 18, 2004