COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
OVERSIGHT DIVISION
FISCAL NOTE
L.R. No.: 0356-03
Bill No.: Perfected SCS for SB 36
Subject: Alcohol; Crimes and Punishment; Probation and Parole; Licenses - Motor Vehicles; Motor Vehicles; Revenue Department; Drunk Driving/Boating; Evidence
Type: Original
Date: February 22, 2001
FISCAL SUMMARY
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
| Highway Funds | ($35,854 to $85,854) | $26,540 | $21,235 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on All State Funds* |
($35,854 to $85,854) | $26,540 | $21,235 |
*Does not include additional administrative costs related to conditions for reinstating licenses of or granting conditional licenses to drivers convicted of .15 and above offenses.
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on All Federal Funds |
$0 | $0 | $0 |
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2002 | FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
| Cities | $13,973 | $27,371 | $28,465 |
| Counties | $9,315 | $18,248 | $18,976 |
| All | (Unknown) | (Unknown) | (Unknown) |
| Local Government | $23,288 to (Unknown) | $45,619 to (Unknown) | $47,441 to (Unknown) |
Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.
This fiscal note contains 11 pages.
ASSUMPTIONS
Officials from the Department of Mental Health assume no impact to the agency.
In response to previous versions of this proposal, officials from the Department of Health assume no impact to the agency.
In response to previous versions of this proposal, officials of the Office of State Courts Administrator (CTS) assume there will be an increased caseload as a result of this proposal. However, they have no way of quantifying the increase at this time. In a response to a similar proposal in the prior session (SB 782, 2000) CTS said they would not expect a significant impact on the budget of the judiciary.
In response to previous versions of this proposal, officials of the Department of Public Safety - Missouri State Highway Patrol and Office of Prosecution Services assume this proposal would have no fiscal impact to their agencies.
In response to previous versions of this proposal, officials of the Office of the Attorney General assumed this proposal would have no fiscal impact to their agency.
In response to previous versions of this proposal, officials of the State Public Defender (SPD) assume that existing staff could provide representation for those 50 - 75 cases arising where indigent persons were charged with "driving while intoxicated at .08%." However, passage of more than one similar bill would require the State Public Defender System to request increased appropriations to cover the cumulative cost of representing the indigent accused.
Officials from the Department of Corrections (DOC), in a response to a similar proposal in the prior session (SB 782, 2000) assumed the impact of that proposal would be minimal and could be absorbed with existing resources.
Officials from the Department of Revenue assume:
This proposal lowers the blood alcohol content threshold for driving while intoxicated, driving with excessive blood alcohol content, and administrative alcohol actions to .08%. Lowering the minimum excessive alcohol threshold will result in additional arrests for driving while intoxicated and subsequently will result in additional license suspension documentation to be sent to the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau (formerly known as the Drivers License Bureau). While the long term implications may result in fewer arrests, it is assumed that until social behaviors are modified to account for the lower alcohol threshold, in the short term (3 to 5 years) arrests will increase.
ASSUMPTION (continued)
This proposal removes the limitations that prohibit courts from ordering the use of an ignition interlock device when the device cannot be installed within fifty miles of the county seat of the individual's county of residence.
Senate Amendment 3
Disallows traffic judges, pursuant to section 479.500, RSMo, from presiding over administrative alcohol trial denovo cases.
This will create additional burdens in providing adequate Department of Revenue staff attorney coverage of these cases as they will be spread over a much wider docket in St. Louis County.
Senate Amendment 5
Requires an additional $50 fine on DWI convictions and an additional $10 fine on speeding convictions to be credited to the Spinal Cord Injury Fund.
This has no impact on the Department of Revenue.
Senate Amendment 6
This will allow an individual who is under the age of 16 to operate a vehicle under an instruction permit with driver training instructor. This will also allow the time driven with the driver training instructor to count towards the 20 hours behind the wheel training required for the intermediate driver's license.
This will require $3,000 of contracted programming to the over-the-counter system.
Oversight assumes this cost is minimal and could be absorbed with existing resources.
Senate Amendment 11
This amendment as written will require the Department of Revenue to ensure that the Department of Mental Health has completed an assessment on an individual who is convicted of an alcohol violation prior to the Department of Revenue or a court issuing a limited driving privilege. This amendment also requires the Department of Revenue to ensure completion of an alcohol assessment, a course of treatment, participation in a twelve-step program, community service, and restitution (if applicable) prior to reinstating a driving privilege or issuing a restricted driving privilege on certain alcohol offenses.
ASSUMPTION (continued)
This amendment creates several complications in the reinstatement and restricted driving privilege process that must be resolved with the sponsor of the amendment. As it is written, this
amendment will create a significant impact to the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau.
Ignition Interlock Devices:
This proposal would allow courts to issue an ignition interlock for a person who is found guilty or pleads guilty to a first intoxication related traffic offense, and requires the court to issue an ignition interlock to any person who is found guilty of or pleads guilty to a second or subsequent intoxication related traffic offense. Any individual who has been required to install an ignition interlock device shall not operate or own any motor vehicle unless that vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device.
The current ignition interlock device program only prohibits operation of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock device. This proposal requires that individuals under court order to install ignition interlock devices cannot operate or own a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock device.
The Department of Revenue will be required to edit applications for motor vehicle titles to ensure the applicant does not have an ignition interlock requirement. In order to accomplish this, programming will be necessary to the Field Audit System for Titling and Registration (FASTR). This system will require an interface to the Missouri Drivers License System (MODL) in order to determine the ignition interlock requirement of each person titling a motor vehicle. Although the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau anticipates this to have minimal impact to processing title and registration applications, the cost of programming the FASTR system is unknown. The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau anticipates that the costs for such programming will not exceed $50,000.
Oversight has ranged the programming costs from $0 to $50,000 in FY 2002 depending on whether DOR must make programming changes to the FASTR system to track the issuance of ignition interlock devices on the vehicle registration statements.
.08% Blood Alcohol Limit:
While the long term intended result of this legislation will reduce the number of alcohol related offenses through stricter driver's license sanctions, the immediate impact will result in increased arrests reported to the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau.
ASSUMPTION (continued)
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau assumes that in the short term (3 to 5 years), this legislation will increase the number of administrative alcohol arrests pursuant to section 302.500 RSMo, by 16.7%. The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau also assumes the same increase (16.7%) on alcohol related convictions.
These increases will result in the following increased workloads in the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau:
Work Process Volume of Increase
Administrative Alcohol Arrest Documentation = 3,826
Alcohol Related Convictions = 2,406
Notices of Suspension/Revocation = 6,232
Reinstatement Notices = 4,241
Correspondence Inquiries = 1,122
Total Increased Documentation for Processing: 17,827
In order to process this increased documentation the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will require one additional FTE (clerk typist II). The requested Clerk Typist II position will be responsible for responding to correspondence inquiries, entering arrest and conviction data, reinstatement fees, proof of insurance (required for reinstatement), and alcohol education completion certificates into automated computer systems. Oversight assumes the additional clerk typist duties could be absorbed with existing resources.
Senate Amendment 5
No Impact.
Senate Amendment 6
This would require 24 hours of programming to the over-the-counter driver's licensing system.
$125 Contracted Programming Rate
x 24 Programming Hours
$3,000 Total Programming
Oversight assumes this cost is minimal and can be absorbed with existing resources.
ASSUMPTION (continued)
Senate Amendment 11
In order to process the additional reinstatement and restricted driving privilege requirements associated with this amendment the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will require one Clerk Typist II position.
Currently a Clerk Typist II in the reinstatement processing area, processes 350 documents per day. This amendment would require three additional documents for reinstatement that are currently not required today, proof of participation in a twelve step program, proof of completion of community service, and proof that restitution has either been paid or is not applicable.
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau estimates an additional 88,374 reinstatement documents to be submitted as a result of these new reinstatement requirements. This is based on reinstatement estimates including the additional arrests for alcohol offenses with a less than .10% blood alcohol reading.
88,374 Additional Reinstatement Documents
/ 240 Physical Working Days Per year
368 Additional Documents Per day
General Counsel's Office
The General Counsel's Office assumes the same impact as the Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau (16.7% increase in arrests). The General Counsel's Office expects an increase in the number of hearings requested as a result in the lower blood alcohol threshold. The immediate impact is expected to be more significant as more individuals will challenge the legitimacy of a lower alcohol threshold and whether or not an individual is impaired at the lower limit. This will require three additional Legal Counsels and one Clerk Typist III in order to process the additional administrative hearings that are associated with the increased number of arrests.
This FTE request is based on current administrative hearing volumes statewide. Nearly half of all hearings are held in the metropolitan areas of Kansas City and St. Louis. One additional Legal Counsel will be needed in each of these areas to absorb the additional hearings that will be requested. The remaining Legal counsel will be used out of the Jefferson City office and will be required to travel to many regions of the state to absorb additional hearing volumes statewide.
The requested Clerk Typist III will be responsible for docketing hearings, scheduling hearings, and preparing hearing documentation.
ASSUMPTIONS - continued
Senate Amendment 3
The Department of Revenue's General Counsel's Office will have significant impact in sustaining appropriate attorney staff levels that will be required to cover a much broader docket schedule in St. Louis County.
The fiscal impact is unknown.
Oversight assumes that one General Counsel and one Clerk Typist II could handle the additional workload, consistent with DOR's response to a similar proposal in the prior session. The costs to DOR have been adjusted accordingly.
POSTAGE
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will require additional postage funding as a result of an estimated 11,595 documents required to be mailed. This documentation includes notices of suspension/revocation, notices of reinstatement, and responses to correspondence inquiries.
Additional postage funding will also be required in order to facilitate the reprinting of Alcohol Influence Reports (form DOR-2389) and the Notice of Suspension/Revocation (form DOR-2385) which is given to the offender at the time of arrest.
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will distribute 100,000 of each of these forms to law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Postage for this distribution of forms is estimated to be $3,100.
Oversight assumes DOR could absorb the cost of postage for the flyers, and has excluded such costs from the fiscal impact.
FORMS
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will be required to modify two forms in order to identify the appropriate reduction in the blood alcohol content threshold and the increased penalties for driving while intoxicated. This will require reprinting of Alcohol Influence Reports (form DOR-2389) and the Notice of Suspension/Revocation (form DOR-2385) which is given to the offender at the time of arrest.
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau will distribute 100,000 of each of these forms to law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Costs for reprinting these forms are estimated to be $6,000.
ASSUMPTIONS - continued
Oversight assumes DOR could absorb the cost of production of the forms, and has excluded such costs from the fiscal impact.
REVENUE INCREASE
Additional suspension and revocation actions will be imposed as a result of lower blood alcohol content threshold.
The Driver and Vehicle Services Bureau estimates 4,241 additional reinstatements annually. This estimate is based on statistics obtained from the Missouri Drivers License (MODL) System.
Fiscal Year 2002 estimates are based on only six months calculations for administrative alcohol and point accumulation suspensions. This is due to the requirement of a one month notice prior to enforcement of the suspension, a one month suspension period, and a two month period of restricted driving prior to reinstatement. In addition, the effective date of this legislation is assumed to be August 28, 2001 which reduces the total months in the fiscal year to ten months.
Administrative alcohol license revocations and point accumulation revocations are also not calculated in fiscal year 2001 as these actions are one year sanctions. The first administrative alcohol revocations will not be eligible for reinstatement until August 28, 2002 under this assumption (FY 2003). Therefore, these reinstatements are calculated for ten months of FY 2003 and all of FY 2004
FY 02
2,094 Administrative Alcohol Suspensions
1,171 Point Accumulation Suspensions
3,265 Total Suspension Reinstatements
3,265 Total Suspension Reinstatements
/ 12 Months per Year
272 Suspension Reinstatements per Month
x 6 Months of Eligible Reinstatement for Suspensions
1,632 Total Suspension Reinstatements for FY02
+ 438 Point Accumulation Revocations Reinstatements
2,070 Additional Reinstatements for FY02
x $45 Reinstatement Fee
$93,150 Total Increased Reinstatement Fee Collection FY02
ASSUMPTIONS - continued
FY 03
514 Administration Alcohol Revocation Reinstatements
+ 438 Point Revocation Reinstatements
952 Total Revocation Reinstatements
/ 12 Months per year
79 Revocations per month
x 10 Months of Eligible Revocation Reinstatements
790 Total Revocation Reinstatements for FY03
3,265 Total Suspension Reinstatements
+ 790 Total Revocation Reinstatements
4,055 Total Reinstatements for FY03
x $45 Reinstatement Fee
$182,475 Total Increased Reinstatement Fee Collection for FY03
FY 04
514 Total Administrative Alcohol Revocations Reinstatements Annually
3,265 Total Suspension Reinstatements
+ 438 Total Point Revocation Reinstatements
4,217 Total Reinstatements for FY04
x $45 Reinstatement Fee
$189,765 Total Increased Reinstatement Fee Collection for FY04
FEE DISTRIBUTION
FY 02
$69,863 Highway Fund
$13,973 Cities
$9,315 Counties
FY 03
$136,856 Highway Fund
$27,371 Cities
$18,248 Counties
ASSUMPTIONS - continued
FY 04
$142,324 Highway Fund
$28,465 Cities
$18,976 Counties
Officials from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) assume this bill would lower Missouri's current excessive BAC standard from .10 to .08 and would increase jail times or minimum community service sentences. The substitute lowers the BAC limit for the offense of "driving with an excessive BAC" from .10 to .08. The criminal penalty is also increased to a B misdemeanor, thereby making it equivalent to the criminal offense of a DWI. The provisions appear to meet the federal requirements for eligibility for incentive grant monies and to avoid the penalty provisions provided in the USDOT Appropriations bill. The federal incentive grant, that states are eligible to apply for, amount should be approximately $3 million for FY02 and FY03.
Because these financial provisions are prospective, Oversight has excluded these amounts from the fiscal impact.
Oversight assumes that, since this proposal increases minimum incarcerations for offenses, there will be an increased cost to local governments, and that the cost is unknown.
| FISCAL IMPACT - State Government | FY 2002
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
| HIGHWAY FUNDS | |||
| Income - Department of Revenue | |||
| Reinstatement fees | $69,863 | $136,856 | $142,324 |
| ` | |||
| Cost - Department of Revenue | |||
| Personal Service (3 FTE) | ($66,310) | ($81,562) | ($89,596) |
| Fringe Benefits | ($22,101) | ($27,160) | ($29,835) |
| Expense and Equipment | ($17,306) | ($1,594) | ($1,658) |
| Computer programming | 0 to ($50,000) | $0 | $0 |
| Total cost | ($105,717) to ($155,717) | ($110,316) | ($121,089) |
| ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON HIGHWAY FUNDS* | ($35,854) to ($85,854) | $26,540 | $21,235 |
*Does not include additional administrative costs related to conditions for reinstating licenses of or granting conditional licenses to drivers convicted of .15 or above offenses.
| FISCAL IMPACT - Local Government | FY 2002
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2003 | FY 2004 |
| Cities | $13,973 | $27,371 | $28,465 |
| Counties | $9,315 | $18,248 | $18,976 |
| Cost - local government | |||
| Additional incarcerations | (Unknown) | (Unknown) | (Unknown) |
| ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT | $23,288 to (Unknown) | $45,619 to (Unknown) | $47,441 to (Unknown) |
FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business
No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.
DESCRIPTION
This bill would lower Missouri's current excessive BAC standard from .10 to .08, would increase jail times, and require either impoundment of a motor vehicle or installation of an ignition interlock device on motor vehicles of repeat offenders.
This legislation is federally mandated; however, it would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Department of Mental Health
Department of Revenue
Jeanne Jarrett, CPA
Director
February 22, 2001