HSB 652

Description

House File 2462 increases the penalties associated with the manufacture, delivery, or possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver heroin to the following levels:

• More than 100 grams is a Class B felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 50 years and a fine of not more than $1.0 million.
• More than 5 grams but not more than 100 grams is a Class B felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 25 years and a fine of no more than $100,000.
• Five grams or less is a Class C felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of not less than $1,370 nor more than $50,000.

Background

Currently, the punishments for the manufacture, delivery, or possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver heroin are as follows:

• More than 1 kilogram is a Class B felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 50 years and a fine of not more than $1.0 million under Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(a)(1).
• More than 100 grams but not more than 1 kilogram is a Class B felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 25 years and a fine of no more than $100,000 under Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b)(1).
• One hundred grams or less is a Class C felony, punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of not less than $1,370 nor more than $50,000 under Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(c)(1).

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.
• Changes in the offense class of the number of convictions will be proportional to changes in the offense class of the number of prison admissions.

Correctional Impact

House File 2462 increases the penalties associated with the manufacture, delivery, or possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver heroin. The estimated correctional impact of the Bill is shown in Table 1. Also, persons convicted would face a mandatory minimum sentence of at least one-third or up to one-half of their sentence.

Table 1 — HF 2462, Correctional Impact Prison admission data reflects the most serious offense of which an individual was convicted. 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.

Minority Impact

Minority data related to convictions and prison admissions under Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(c)(1) for FY 2021 is shown in Table 2. Of the current active offenders, 12 of those convicted in FY 2021 are Caucasian, 12 are African American, and 3 are listed in the “unknown” category (Table 2). The Bill could have a disproportionate or negative impact on the African American community as 12 of the 27 (44.4%) convicted offenders were African American. The U.S. Census estimate as of July 2020 states that the Iowa population was 3.9% African American. The Bill also extends the LOS for convicted offenders. Based on the current prison admission data, which shows that six of the seven offenders admitted under a Class C felony offense were African American or Hispanic, the Bill could have a disproportional or negative impact on minorities. 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.

Table 2 — Minority Impact Under Iowa Code Section 124.401(1)(c)(1)

Fiscal Impact

As shown in Table 3, HF 2462 is estimated to increase annual costs to the justice system by approximately $105,000. 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.

Table 3 — HF 2462, Estimated CostCode Section

Offense

Class

Judicial

Branch

State Public

Defender

Department of

Corrections Parole

Total Costs

By Offense

124.401(1)(a)(1) B Felony 0$ 0$ 0$ 0$ 0$ 124.401(1)(b)(1) B Felony 43,000 48,000 87,000 41,000 219,000 124.401(1)(c)(1) C Felony -29,000 -24,000 -38,000 -24,000 -115,000 Total 104,000$

Changes in Cost

Sources

• Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division, Department of Human Rights
• Department of Corrections