TO:	Honorable Todd Hunter, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4 by Spiller (Relating to prohibitions on the illegal entry into or illegal presence in this state by a person who is an alien, the enforcement of those prohibitions, and authorizing the removal of persons who violate certain of those prohibitions in lieu of arrest; creating criminal offenses.), As Introduced

The bill would create misdemeanor offenses for illegal entry from a foreign nation and illegal reentry by certain aliens. The penalties would be increased ranging from a state jail felony to a second degree felony in cases with certain previous convictions or under certain conditions. The bill would authorize a peace officer, in lieu of arrest, to remove a person detained for such an offense by collecting any identifying information the person may have, transporting the person to a port of entry, and ordering the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter. The bill would make it a second degree felony if the person refuses to comply with such an order. The bill would establish provisions for indemnification of certain claims relating to the enforcement of criminal offenses outlined in the bill's provisions.

The Office of Court Administration indicates that the fiscal impact cannot be determined but anticipates the possibility of increased demands on border county courts that could require additional funding to support indigent defense in those counties and to create one or more county courts-at-law.

The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to a lack of data to estimate the prevalence of conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.

Local Government Impact

While the fiscal impact to units of local government cannot be determined, creating a new criminal offense may result in additional demands on local prosecutorial and correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.