FISCAL NOTE TO


ASSEMBLY, No. 2291


STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: JANUARY 3, 1997

 

 

      Assembly Bill No. 2291 of 1996 requires inmates sentenced for first and second degree offenses to serve a minimum of 85 percent of his court-ordered term of incarceration regardless of the number of commutation credits, work credits, or minimum custody credits earned. Flagrant misconduct during imprisonment would result in the loss of credits and cause the inmate to serve an even greater percentage of the term. The bill would authorize the Parole Board to make exceptions for offenders who are at least 65 years old who have served a minimum of five years, or those who are 60 years old who have served a minimum of 10 years, and who have been determined to have a medical condition that precludes them from posing a threat to the public. The bill would take effect on January 1, 1998 in order to provide sufficient time for the construction of additional prison bed spaces necessary to accommodate the anticipated increase in prison population.

      The Department of Corrections (DOC) states that the bill would substantially increase the length of stay for the affected inmates, resulting in a significant increase in the adult inmate population.

      Based on its admissions and length of stay data, the department estimates that the bill would result in the need to house a minimum of

6,100 more inmates than would be expected under the current statutes and provisions. Impact would begin to accrue in 1999, and full impact of this bill would be achieved by the year 2014.

      According to the department, the average cost of housing an inmate in a State institution is currently $26,000 per year. The one-time cost of building additional bed space is about $80,000 per inmate. Under the proposed bill, the State would incur additional ongoing operating costs of $4 million and one-time capital expenses of $12.4 million during the first year, $20 million in additional ongoing operating and $61.7 million in one-time capital expenses during the second year, and $26 million in additional ongoing operating and $80.2 million in onetime capital expenses during the third year of implementation. By year 2014, the year in which additional costs should stabilize, the State would have incurred ongoing operating costs of $158 million per year and one-time capital costs of $487 million. Below is a chart illustrating the incremental and total costs of implementing the bill by year.

 


       PROJECTED INCREASE IN COSTS

 

                                                        Annual Add         Total Add

                                         Capital       Per Capita      Per Capita

             Additional      Costs Per      Operating       Operating

 Year    Inmates       New Bed       Costs                   Costs

                                     @$80,000       @$26,000

  1 0           $             0 $              0       $          0

  2 155                      12,400,000       4,030,000       4,030,000

  3 771                      61,680,000      20,046,000       24,076,000

  4 1,002                      80,160,000      26,052,000       50,128,000

  5 768                      61,440,000      19,968,000       70,096,000

  6 706                      56,480,000      18,356,000       88,452,000

  7 563                      45,040,000      14,638,000      103,090,000

  8 443                      35,440,000      11,518,000      114,608,000

  9 344                      27,520,000       8,944,000      123,552,000

10 211                     16,880,000       5,486,000      129,038,000

11 234                     18,720,000       6,084,000      135,122,000

12 234                     18,720,000       6,084,000      141,206,000

13 188                     15,040,000       4,888,000      146,094,000

14 158                     12,640,000       4,108,000      150,202,000

1 5 130                     10,400,000       3,380,000      153,582,000

16 112                      8,960,000       2,912,000      156,494,000

17        67                     5,360,000       1,742,000      158,236,000

18         0                   0                   0        158,236,000

 TOTAL

       6,086                 $486,880,000               $158,236,000

 

      The Department of Corrections also states that ultimately the bill would yield a reduction in the number of offenders assigned to parole supervision caseloads. The timing of this anticipated reduction of caseload and how it would affect the additional institutional operating costs cannot be currently determined. However, assuming that the current parole requirements remain as they are, the savings in parole supervision would be about $1,250 per inmate per year.

      The department further states that while the department could be eligible for partial reimbursement of capital expenditures based in the provisions of the federal crime bill (H.R.667) it is not known what percentage of the total amount would be offset by federal funds.

      The Office of Legislative Services concurs.

 

This fiscal note has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.