FISCAL NOTE TO


[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 338


STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MARCH 7, 1997

 

 

      Senate Bill No. 338 (1R) of 1996 would provides that an inmate would be eligible for parole after serving 85 percent of the sentence imposed if convicted of a crime of the first or second degree involving violence. In all other cases, inmates would be eligible for parole after serving one-half of the sentence imposed. The bill would also amend several sections of Title 2C which mandate minimum terms of imprisonment without eligibility for parole for certain offenses.

      The Department of Corrections states that enactment of the bill would increase the length-of-stay for adult commitments. This, in turn, would increase the number of inmates to be housed, and create a need for additional bed spaces.

      Currently, inmates committed for violent crimes serve about 42-50 percent of total term, while those committed for non-violent crimes serve approximately 39 percent of total term prior to parole release. 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 8,600 more inmates than would be expected under the current statutes and provisions. Of these, 5,800 would be violent offenders and 2,800 would be non-violent offenders. Impact would begin to accrue in the second year after enactment and full impact of this bill would be achieved after year 17.

      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 maximum security bed space for violent offenders is about $95,000 per inmate; for medium security non-violent offenders bed spaces, the one-time cost is about $50,000 per bed space. The department notes that its estimate for maximum security bed spaces has increased from $80,000 cited in previous fiscal notes, to $95,000 to reflect current construction costs.

      Under the proposed bill, the State would incur additional ongoing operating costs of $3.7 million during the second year, increasing to $43.5 million during the third year, and $95.1 million during the fourth year of implementation. One-time capital expenditures would total $7.1 million during the second year, $90 million during the third year, and $131.6 million during the fourth year of implementation. By year 17, the year in which additional costs should stabilize, the State would have incurred additional operating costs of $224 million per year and one-time capital costs of $691 million to provide the necessary prison beds. Below are two charts illustrating the incremental and total costs of implementing the bill by year.

 

VIOLENT OFFENDERS

 

                                                        Annual Add         Total Add

             Additional      Capital       Per Capita      Per Capita

                  Violent       Costs Per      Operating       Operating

 Year    Inmates       New Bed       Costs                   Costs

                                     @$95,000       @$26,000

  1 0      $ 0 $              0        $          0

  2 0                  0        0         0

  3 300                28,500,000       7,800,000        7,800,000

  4 716                68,020,000      18,616,000       26,416,000

  5      878              83,410,000      22,828,000       49,244,000

  6 477                45,315,000      12,402,000       61,646,000

  7 690                65,550,000      17,940,000       79,586,000

  8 582                55,290,000      15,132,000       94,718,000

  9 433                41,315,000      11,258,000      105,976,000

10 465               44,175,000      12,090,000      118,066,000

11 212               20,140,000       5,512,000      123,578,000

12 234               22,230,000       6,084,000      129,662,000

13 234               22,230,000       6,084,000      135,746,000

14 167               15,865,000       4,342,000      140,088,000

1 5 177               16,815,000       4,602,000      144,690,000

16 130               12,350,000       3,380,000      148,070,000

17         105               9,975,000       2,730,000      150,800,000

 Total Violent Offenders

            5,800            $551,000,000               $150,800,000

 

NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS

 

                                                        Annual Add         Total Add

             Additional      Capital       Per Capita      Per Capita

           NonViolent       Costs Per      Operating       Operating

 Year    Inmates       New Bed       Costs                   Costs

                                     @$50,000       @$26,000

  1 0      $ 0 $              0        $          0

  2 142                 7,100,000       3,692,000        3,692,000

  3 1,230                61,500,000      31,980,000       35,672,000

  4 1,271                63,550,000      33,046,000       68,718,000

  5      144               7,200,000       3,744,000        72,462,000

  6 5     250,000       130,000        72,592,000

  7 0     0        0         72,592,000

  8 0                 0       0         72,592,000

  9 0                 0       0       72,592,000

10 0                0       0         72,592,000

11 4    200,000        104,000        72,696,000

12 4    200,000        104,000        72,800,000

13 0                0       0        72,800,000

14 0                0       0        72,800,000

15 0                0       0        72,800,000

16 0                0       0        72,800,000

17         0                           0       0        72,800,000

 Total Non-Violent Offenders

            2,800            $140,000,000               $72,800,000

 

 TOTAL ALL OFFENDERS

            8,600            $691,000,000               $223,600,000

 

      In fiscal notes to similar bills, the department also stated 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, thus reducing the total operating costs of the bill by $10.75 million, to $212,850,000.

      The department further states that while it could be eligible for partial reimbursement of capital expenditures based in the provisions of the federal Violent Crimes Control and Enforcement Act of 1994, it is not known what percentage of the total amount would be offset by federal funds.

      The Office of Legislative Services adds that the department was not able to quantify any deterrent effect of the increased sentence to potential offenders, nor did it take into account the recidivists who would not re-offend because they would continue to be incarcerated for their first offense. To the extent the enactment of the bill would have a deterrent effect or would reduce recidivism, the cost of the bill might be lower than that estimated.

 

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