121st Maine Legislature
		Office of Fiscal and Program Review
		LD 1903
		An Act To Further Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Improve the Sentencing, Supervision, Management and Incarceration of Prisoners
		LR 2718(03)
		Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
		Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
		Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
					Projections	Projections
			2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$0	$95,040	$47,000	$48,500
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$0	$95,040	$47,000	$48,500
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements:
	Increase the class of crimes that involve victims under the age of 12; incurring correctional and judicial costs
	Establishes new Class A, Class B and Class C crimes
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $55,040 in fiscal year 2004-05 to the Judicial Department to contract with a computer programmer to accommodate the new sentencing options.  It also includes a General Fund appropriation of $40,000 in fiscal year 2004-05, and requires future appropriations of $47,000 in fiscal year 2005-06 and $48,500 in fiscal year 2006-07 to contract for evaluation services to conduct a review and report on new sentencing alternatives for deferred disposition and administrative release.  The Judicial Department has indicated that neither it nor the District Attorneys have the resources to conduct a study of such magnitude.
	The anticipated reductions in length of imprisonments will result in a future cost avoidance to the Department of Corrections for not having to build or purchase bed space in the near future.  This future cost avoidance will be partially offset by higher costs for proposed increased sentences for certain sex offenders.  The net effect is expected to bring the correctional facilites population down to budgeted capacity, thus having no net current or future fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections.
	The additional costs associated with directing the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services and the Department of Corrections to develop a joint plan of action to address mental illness in the criminal justice community can be absorbed by the above mentioned agencies utilizing existing budgeted resources.
	The Department of the Attorney General has indicated that there is insufficient information to determine the fiscal impact to the District Attorneys of monitoring defendants on administrative release and deferred disposition.
Current costs - Legislative Study
Legislative Study
	The Legislature will require $840 in fiscal year 2003-04 and $2,520 in fiscal year 2004-05 to cover the projected legislative costs to extend the life of the Commission.  These amounts are not appropriated in this bill and are not shown in the numbers on the front of this fiscal note because the Legislature has budgeted $30,000 in fiscal year 2003-04 and $20,000 in fiscal year 2004-05 for legislative studies.  Whether these amounts are sufficient to fund all studies including this one will depend on the number of studies authorized by the Legislative Council and the Legislature.  Other expenses attributable to the extension may be paid from the remaining balance of the original appropriation to the Department of Corrections for the Commission.