Sex offenses.

06LSO-0194.L2

FISCAL NOTE

Unknown fiscal impact due to unknown sentencing under the proposed legislation.  However, the potential impact could be significant. 

Source of Expenditure Increase: The proposed legislation creates multiple new categories of offenses that do not directly correlate to current offenses.  Data is largely unavailable at this time with respect to the age of victims in sexual offenses.  The potential impact for FY07 - FY09 would largely be the result of the imposition of minimum sentences under the proposed 6-2-315 through 6-2-317.  Because 7-13-302 allows for probation as an alternative to incarceration, it is unknown whether minimum sentences proposed with this legislation will actually be imposed by the courts.

Over time, the imposition of minimum sentences of incarceration as proposed in this legislation will have a continued and significant impact.  The actual costs will depend on the number of offenders sentenced under each of the proposed offenses.  In addition, the inmate population as a whole will grow over time at a rate greater than current projections.  As inmates spend longer periods of time in prison, fewer prison beds will be available.  To the extent that inmates are sentenced to life sentences under the proposed legislation, those prison beds will be occupied for the life of the offender.  Data also suggests that the cost of care for elderly inmates tends to be greater than that of younger inmates.

For each year of increased sentence, each inmate costs the State approximately $32,000 in current dollars.  To build additional prison beds in Wyoming costs approximately $100,000 per bed.

Assumptions: Assuming 100 additional offenders will need to be incarcerated as a result of the proposed legislation in FY07, the cost of housing those offenders will total $2,190,000.  Assuming 150 additional offenders will need to be housed in out-of-state contract facilities in FY08, the cost of housing those offenders will total $3,285,000.  Assuming 175 additional offenders will need to be housed in out-of-state contract facilities in FY09, the cost of housing those offenders will total $3,832,500. It will cost approximately $60 per day to house and manage an offender in an out-of-state contract facility.  There are currently no available additional beds within WDOC facilities.

It is assumed that minimum sentences that are required by the proposed legislation will be used.

It is assumed that the 112 probationers currently under supervision for violations of W.S. 14-3-104 through 14-3-106 would be sentenced to at least the 2 year minimum incarceration imposed by the proposed 6-2-316.  Because these persons are currently on probation, they do not occupy prison beds and would represent new inmates to the prison system.

Additionally, 76 of 125 inmates who have been sentenced for violations of W.S. 14-3-104 through 14-3-106 are currently serving sentences of less than 5 years, the minimum sentence imposed by the proposed 6-2-315.  Because of the variety of factors that would impact sentencing under the proposed legislation, it is not possible to correlate current offenders with the categories created by the current legislation.  However, it is assumed that an immediate impact could range from 100 to 150 additional prison beds.

Prepared by:   Brian Farmer, Dept. 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