TO:	Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB900 by Huffman (Relating to the punishment for certain offenses involving family violence; changing the eligibility for parole and mandatory supervision for those offenses.), As Introduced

The bill would enhance the punishment for certain assault family violence to include two years of confinement if the individual has been previously convicted two or more times of certain offenses against family members, enhance certain assault offenses to a second degree felony, and modify parole and mandatory supervision eligibility for certain individuals. Enhancing punishments and restricting parole eligibility is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of the state.

In fiscal year 2016, there were 146 individuals placed under misdemeanor community supervision for assaultive offenses whose punishment under the provisions of the bill would increase to a second degree felony based on the number of their prior convictions for certain offenses.  Based on sentencing trends in the adult criminal justice system, it is assumed 51 percent or 75 of these individuals would be admitted into state correctional institutions and 49 percent or 71 would be placed under felony community supervision.  Data collected at the statewide level do not provide the detail necessarily to determine the relationship between victim and defendant for the offenses of Kidnapping, Aggravated Kidnapping, or Indecency with a Child, it is possible additional individuals would also qualify for enhancement though the impact these additional cases might have is indeterminate. In fiscal year 2016, there were 191 individuals admitted for certain assaultive offenses who are currently eligible for parole upon completion of one-fourth of their sentence. Under the bill's provisions, these individuals would not be eligible for parole consideration until they have completed one-half of their sentence, without consideration of good conduct time, or 30 years, whichever is less, with a minimum term of confinement of two years. These individuals would also be ineligible for mandatory supervision.

Assuming a time lag before the first individuals enter the criminal justice system and sentencing patterns and policies not addressed in the bill remain constant, the probable impact on adult correctional populations of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage is estimated as follows: