Related to forgery involving movie prop money, and providing penalties

Description

House File 2477 prohibits using movie prop money for the purpose of obtaining property or services with the intent to defraud or injure anyone. This offense is punishable as follows:

• A Class C felony for property or services exceeding $10,000 in value.
• A Class D felony for property or services exceeding $1,500 in value but not exceeding $10,000 in value.
• An aggravated misdemeanor for property or services exceeding $750 in value but not exceeding $1,500 in value.
• A serious misdemeanor for property or services exceeding $300 in value but not exceeding $750 in value.
• A simple misdemeanor for property or services not exceeding $300 in value.

Background

A Class C felony is punishable by confinement for up to 10 years and a fine of at least $1,370 but not more than $13,660. A Class D felony is punishable by confinement for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to two years and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for up to 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855.

Assumptions

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay (LOS); revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.

Correctional Impact

House File 2477 creates a new criminal offense, and the correctional impact cannot be estimated for this Bill due to a lack of existing conviction data. Table 1 below shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or community-based corrections (CBC) residential facilities; LOS under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for all convictions of Class C felonies, Class D felonies, aggravated misdemeanors, and serious misdemeanors. A conviction for a simple misdemeanor does not result in a prison sentence, but does carry the possibility of confinement for up to 30 days. Marginal county jail costs are estimated to be $50 per day. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 18, 2022, for information related to the correctional system.

Table 1 — Sentencing Estimates and Length of Stay (LOS)

Minority Impact

House File 2477 establishes a new offense. As a result, the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division (CJJP) of the Department of Human Rights cannot use existing data to estimate the minority impact of HF 2477. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 18, 2022, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

House File 2477 establishes a new offense, and the fiscal impact cannot be estimated due to a lack of existing conviction data. Table 2 below shows the average State cost per offense for a Class C felony, Class D felony, aggravated misdemeanor, serious misdemeanor, and simple misdemeanor. The estimated impact to the State General Fund includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the Indigent Defense Fund, and the Department of Corrections (DOC). The cost would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision.Conviction

Offense Class

Percent

Ordered

to State

Prison

FY 21 Avg

LOS in

Prison in

Months (All Releases) FY 21

Marginal

Cost Per

Day

Prison

Percent

Ordered

to

Probation

Avg LOS

on

Probation

in Months FY 21 Avg

Cost Per

Day

Probation

Percent

Sentenced

to CBC

Residential

Facility

FY 21

Marginal

Cost Per

Day CBC

Percent

Ordered

to

County

Jail

Marginal

Cost Per

Day

Jail

Avg

LOS on

Parole

in

Months

FY 21

Marginal

Cost Per

Day

Parole

C Felony

(Non-Persons) 77.0% 17.9 $23.33 61.4% 36.0 $7.01 11.7% $17.78 34.9% $50.00 18.7 $7.01

D Felony

(Non-Persons) 82.0% 13.7 $23.33 64.5% 33.3 $7.01 12.3% $17.78 34.0% $50.00 13.4 $7.01

Aggravated

Misdemeanor

(Non-Persons) 32.2% 7.7 $23.33 69.8% 21.3 $7.01 3.1% $17.78 39.6% $50.00 7.4 $7.01

Serious

Misdemeanor 1.8% 6.5 $23.33 56.0% 14.5 $7.01 0.9% $17.78 69.0% $50.00 18.1 $7.01Class C Felony $11,100 to $22,100 Class D Felony $9,100 to $16,600 Aggravated Misdemeanor $4,900 to $9,500 Serious Misdemeanor $410 to $7,000 Simple Misdemeanor $40 to $370 Table 2 — Average State Cost Per Offense

Sources

• Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division, Department of Human Rights
• Legislative Services Agency