Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB36 by Bowers (Relating to the monitoring of certain family violence offenders, the provision of resources for family violence victims, and the collection of information about conditions of bond imposed in family violence cases and certain other criminal cases.), As Introduced
The bill would expand the applicability of the felony offense of tampering with an electronic monitoring device by including individuals subject to certain magistrate emergency protection orders or family violence protective orders. Under the provisions of the bill, when a defendant poses a continuing threat to a person protected by the order, a magistrate or court would require the defendant to submit to monitoring by means of a global positioning satellite (GPS) system.
Expanding the applicability of an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state and local 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.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 293 arrests, 23 referrals, 6 placements onto adult community supervision, 24 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and one individual admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the felony offense of tampering with an electronic monitoring device.
According to the Office of Court Administration, in fiscal year 2024, 48,759 individuals were subject to certain magistrate emergency protection orders, and 8,646 individuals were subject to certain family violence protective orders.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined as the number of individuals who would meet the bill's requirements for submission to GPS monitoring is unknown.