Sex offender penalties.

06LSO-0171.C1

FISCAL NOTE

Expenditure increase to the Department of Corrections is unknown due to an unknown number of cases.

Source of Expenditure Increase:

Unknown fiscal impact due to an unknown number of cases.  Should the courts impose sentences pursuant to the proposed subsection (e) of W.S. 6-2-306, or the proposed subsection (c) of W.S. 14-3-305, there is a potential for significant fiscal impact due to increased costs for incarceration and the costs of constructing new prison beds.

Assumptions:

The imposition of a “life without parole” sentence would extend the “length of stay” for offenders incarcerated under such a sentence.  For each year of increased sentence each person costs the State approximately $32,000 in current dollars.  The Department of Corrections does not know how many offenders would receive enhanced sentences under this legislation.  Additionally, the imposition of a “life without parole” sentence removes a prison bed from availability.  The cost of replacing each bed through construction would be a one time cost of around $80,000 - $100,000 per bed.  It would be possible to return to the placement of Wyoming inmates out-of-state at a cost of approximately $24,000 per inmate in current dollars per year plus medical costs.

The formula that the department currently uses for projecting the number of needed beds would change because more beds would stay occupied.

Prepared by:   Brian Farmer, Department of Corrections   

Phone:   777-5983

The fiscal impact to the judicial system is indeterminable due to an unknown number of cases.

Prepared by:   Holly Hansen, Supreme Court Phone:   777-7678