COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION



FISCAL NOTE



L.R. No.: 0453-01

Bill No.: SB 70

Subject: Consumer Protection; Crimes and Punishment; Science and Technology

Type: Original

Date: January 19, 2001




FISCAL SUMMARY



ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON STATE FUNDS
FUND AFFECTED FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004
General Revenue Fund Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000)
Total Estimated

Net Effect on All

State Funds

Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000)



ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDS
FUND AFFECTED FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004
None
Total Estimated

Net Effect on All

Federal Funds

$0 $0 $0



ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON LOCAL FUNDS
FUND AFFECTED FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004
Local Government $0 $0 $0

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 4 pages.

FISCAL ANALYSIS



ASSUMPTION



Officials from the Attorney General's Office and the Office of State Courts Administrator assume the proposed legislation would have no fiscal impact on their agencies.



Officials from the Office of Prosecution Services (OPS) assume the proposed legislation would have no fiscal impact on their agency. However, in response to an identical proposal in a previous legislative session, OPS assumed the proposal would create a new misdemeanor offense and may impact prosecutor's caseloads. OPS assumed these cases could be picked up by the county budgetary process and would have no significant fiscal impact.



Officials from the Office of the State Public Defender assume existing staff could provide representation for indigent persons accused of the class A misdemeanor or class C felony of operating a website that causes another person's computer to dial a long distance telephone number without that other person's knowledge.



Officials from the Department of Corrections (DOC) stated that they could not predict the number of new commitments which could result from the creation of the offense(s) outlined in the proposal. An increase in commitments would depend on the utilization of prosecutors and the actual sentences imposed by the courts. If additional persons were sentenced to the custody of the DOC due to the provisions of this legislation, the DOC would incur a corresponding increase in operational costs either through incarceration (FY99 average $35.61 per inmate, per day) or through supervision provided by the Board of Probation and Parole (FY 99 average $2.47 per offender, per day). Supervision by the DOC through probation or incarceration would result in some additional costs, but DOC officials assume that the impact would be $0 or a minimal amount that could be absorbed within existing resources.



The following factors contribute to DOC's minimal assumption:



If long-range fiscal impact would prove to be an amount in excess of that which could be absorbed by DOC, any costs profiled in this fiscal note would be requested through normal budgetary request procedures for the time periods affected by passage of this legislation.



ASSUMPTION (continued)



The need for additional capital improvements or rental space is not anticipated at this time. It must be noted that the cumulative effect of various new legislation, if adopted, could result in the need for additional capital improvements funding if the total number of new offenders exceeds current planned capacity.



Oversight assumes that the conviction and incarceration of only one person would create a minimal fiscal impact of less than $100,000 annually.





FISCAL IMPACT - State Government FY 2002

(10 Mo.)

FY 2003 FY 2004
GENERAL REVENUE FUND
Cost - Department of Corrections

Incarceration/Probation costs

Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000)
ESTIMATED EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE FUND Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000) Less than ($100,000)



FISCAL IMPACT - Local Government FY 2002

(10 Mo.)

FY 2003 FY 2004
$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 proposal would make operation of an Internet web site that causes another person's computer to dial a long distance telephone number without that person's knowledge a class A misdemeanor unless the telephone charges exceed $150, in which case a violation is a class C felony.



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



Attorney General's Office

State Public Defender

Office of Prosecution Services

Office of State Courts Administrator

Department of Corrections









Jeanne Jarrett, CPA

Director

January 19, 2001