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April 25, 2023 HB 23-1199
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Revised Fiscal Note
(replaces fiscal note dated March 28, 2023)
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0080
Rep. Froelich; Soper
Sen. Winter F.
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
April 25, 2023
Senate Judiciary
Clayton Mayfield | 303-866-5851
clayton.mayfield@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: FORENSIC MEDICAL EVIDENCE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to establish tracking systems for
sexual assault forensic medical evidence examinations and reimbursements under the
SAVE program. The bill expands the SAVE program to allow reimbursement for
victims that report to law enforcement. Starting in FY 2023-24, the bill increases state
expenditures and local workload on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
The Colorado Crime Victim Services Cash Fund is continuously appropriated to the
Department of Public Safety. See State Appropriations section for detail.
Fiscal Note
Status:
This revised fiscal note reflects the reengrossed bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 23-1199
Budget Year
FY 2023-24
Out Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue
- - -
Expenditures General Fund - $1,571,095 $486,918
Cash Funds $710,353 - -
Centrally Appropriated $33,998 $52,568 $54,138
Total Expenditures $744,351 $1,623,663 $541,056
Total FTE 4.5 FTE 7.6 FTE 4.0 FTE
Transfers - - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve - $235,664 $73,038
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April 25, 2023 HB 23-1199
Summary of Legislation
The bill requires the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish a secure statewide system that
allows victims of sexual assault to monitor the status of evidence obtained from their forensic medical
evidence examinations. Every state or local law enforcement agency, medical facility, crime
laboratory, or other entity that supplies, performs, analyzes, stores, or destroys examinations must
participate in the system. The system must track certain information about stages of evidence analysis
based on whether or not the victim consents to having the evidence analyzed and must also provide
victims with certain information about navigating the criminal justice system and community
resources. The system must be operational by June 30, 2025. Beginning January 30, 2026, the DPS must
annually report on examination data to the General Assembly.
Additionally, the DPS must establish a tracking system for claims submitted to the sexual assault
victim emergency (SAVE) payment program by December 31, 2024. The system must meet minimum
information requirements described in the bill. Beginning January 30, 2026, the DPS must annually
report on reimbursement data to the General Assembly.
Finally, the bill allows the SAVE program to cover exams and associated medical costs for victims
who report to law enforcement. A law enforcement agency must request reimbursement to have costs
covered, and the SAVE program must cover costs to the agency for recording the assault in the
statewide tracking system. DPS must develop a policy for the amount payable to law enforcement
agencies based on costs and available funds.
Background
Under current law, costs of medical forensic exams for victims who report to law enforcement are
borne by the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the assault. Medical costs from
injuries related to the assault are the responsibility of the victim, who may apply for reimbursement
from local victim compensation programs.
When a victim receives a medical forensic exam and does not report to law enforcement, exam costs
and medical care are reimbursable by the SAVE program. The FY 2023-24 budget request for the DPS
indicates $167,933 in General Fund appropriations, and 0.2 FTE, for the SAVE program in its current
form, which also currently utilizes approximately $320,000 in federal Victim of Crime Act grant funds.
In Senate Bill 23-214, the Colorado Crime Victim Services Cash Fund received $8.0 million from the
General Fund. The cash fund was created in 2022 to award grants to provide services for crime
victims.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in the DPS by $0.7 million in FY 2023-24, $1.6 million in
FY 2024-25, and $0.5 million in FY 2025-26 and thereafter. First-year costs are paid from the Colorado
Crime Victim Services Cash Fund, and future year costs from the General Fund. Expenditures are
shown in Table 2 and detailed below.
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April 25, 2023 HB 23-1199
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 23-1199
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of Public Safety
Personal Services $151,237 $220,149 $225,163
Operating Expenses $2,700 $4,050 $4,050
Capital Outlay Costs $13,340 $6,670 -
Tracking Systems $523,686 $1,322,836 $240,315
Statewide Training $4,390 $2,390 $2,390
Forensic Exam Kits $15,000 $15,000 $15,000
Exam Reimbursements—see below - - -
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$33,998 $52,568 $54,138
FTE – Personal Services 1.8 FTE 2.9 FTE 3.0 FTE
FTE – Information Technology 2.7 FTE 4.7 FTE 1.0 FTE
Total $744,351 $1,623,663 $541,056
Total FTE 4.5 FTE 7.6 FTE 4.0 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Staffing. The DPS requires 3.0 FTE to administer the program. This includes an Administrator to
oversee the program, help customize the tracking system, coordinate and conduct outreach with
stakeholders, train tracking system users and community stakeholders, review and process
reimbursements, and assist with preparing required reports; a Data Manager to collect contact
information for tracking system participants needed at the beginning of the project, manage updates
to this information, and coordinate with the administrator on training and report preparation; and an
Administrative Assistant to enter initial billing data, track status of reimbursements, and follow-up
with medical facilities.
The administrator and data manager will start in the first year, while the administrative assistant will
start in the second year. Amounts include standard operating and capital outlay costs and first-year
costs are prorated for the General Fund pay date shift.
Tracking systems. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) will obtain an existing statewide
tracking system, adapt the system for Colorado’s security and accessibility requirements, and
maintain the system on an ongoing basis thereafter. The OIT will also create an invoicing system for
DPS. First-year costs for the two systems involve project intake, system requirements, and hardware.
The majority of system build-out using both OIT staff and contract project management will occur in
the second year based on the implementation date found in the bill. Ongoing maintenance costs are
reflected in the third year of Table 2.
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April 25, 2023 HB 23-1199
Statewide training. In the first year of implementation, DPS will receive training and consultation
from Oregon officials that have implemented a similar tracking system at $2,000 for travel and lodging
expenses. Additionally, program staff will train stakeholders across the state on system utilization at
a total cost of $2,390, which includes travel and lodging for three events across the state per year.
Forensic exam kits. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) currently supplies kits to law
enforcement agencies and medical facilities through a vendor at a cost of approximately $35,000. To
supply kits that are integrated with the tracking system, it is estimated that the department will need
an additional $15,000 to deploy bar code information on these kits.
Exam reimbursements. The bill expands the population of victims whose exam and related medical
costs are eligible for reimbursement under the SAVE program and allows law enforcement agencies
to seek reimbursement for their exam-related costs. As discussed in the Background section, local law
enforcement currently covers the costs for forensic exams, and the SAVE program currently covers
some exam costs for victims who undergo forensic exams but do not report to law enforcement.
Assuming an exam costs approximately $2,000 on average, with the forensic exam itself costing $875,
to fully reimburse costs for approximately 1,700 victims that report to law enforcement and
approximately 550 who seek medical attention without reporting to law enforcement, the DPS would
require about $4.0 million in additional funding for the SAVE program, which operates with about
$490,000 in state and federal funding in its current form as discussed in the Background section. Since
an appropriation for these costs is at the discretion of the General Assembly, these costs are not
currently included in the fiscal note.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs associated
with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally appropriated in the Long
Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These costs, which include employee
insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note, the
bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts shown in
Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
Local Government
Local government workload will increase for law enforcement agencies to fulfill tracking system
reporting requirements. Some law enforcement agencies may have decreased expenditures resulting
from exam cost reimbursements from the SAVE program.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his signature. Page 5
April 25, 2023 HB 23-1199
State Appropriations
In FY 2023-24, the Department of Public Safety will spend $710,353 from the continuously
appropriated Crime Victim Services Cash Fund. Of this amount, $523,686 is reappropriated to the
Office of Information Technology with 2.7 FTE.
State and Local Government Contacts
Corrections Counties District Attorneys
Higher Education Judicial Law
Public Health and Environment Public Safety Regulatory Agencies
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.