Honorable Sam Harless, Chair, House Committee on Corrections
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3464 by Meza (Relating to the offense of providing a controlled substance to a person in the custody of a correctional facility; increasing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced
The bill would increase the penalty for the third degree felony offense of prohibited substances and items in a correctional or civil commitment facility to a second degree felony when the actor is employed by the correctional facility and provides a controlled substance in certain circumstances to a person in the custody of the correctional facility, or to a first degree felony with a minimum fifteen year sentence if the consumption of the controlled substance causes the death of a person in the custody of the facility.
Increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals confined and in the length of stay for individuals sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 2,666 arrests, 31 referrals, 195 placements onto adult community supervision, 305 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional facility, and no individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional facility for the prohibited substances offenses which could be subject to enhanced penalties according to the specific circumstances in the bill's provisions.
While it is assumed that the impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant, it would be dependent on the number of offenses committed under the specific circumstances as outlined in the bill.