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February 9, 2023 SB 23-095
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0535
Sen. Ginal; Gardner
Rep. Soper; Daugherty
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 10, 2023
Senate Judiciary
Clayton Mayfield | 303-866-5851
clayton.mayfield@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: UNLAWFULLY AIMING LASER DEVICE AT AIRCRAFT
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill creates a class 6 felony for unlawfully aiming a laser device at an aircraft.
Starting in FY 2023-24, the bill may minimally increase state and local expenditures
and revenue.
Appropriation
Summary:
No appropriation is required.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary of Legislation
The bill makes it unlawful to knowingly aim the beam of a laser device at an aircraft in flight or on the
ground, punishable as a class 6 felony. Exceptions are provided for authorized individuals conducting
research, flight tests, or training, and if the laser device is used to send an emergency distress signal.
The bill applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2023.
Comparable Crime Analysis
Legislative Council Staff is required to include certain information in the fiscal note for any bill that
creates a new crime, changes the classification of an existing crime, or creates a new factual basis for
an existing crime. Using Judicial Department data, the following section outlines crimes that are
comparable to the offense in this bill and discusses assumptions on future rates of criminal convictions
resulting from the bill.
Prior conviction data and assumptions. This bill creates the new offense of unlawfully aiming a laser
device at an aircraft, a class 6 felony. To form an estimate on the prevalence of this new crime, the
fiscal note analyzed the existing offense of unlawfully possessing an incendiary device on public
transportation as a comparable crime. From FY 2019-20 to FY 2021-22, one offender was sentenced
and convicted for this existing offense, who was a Black/African-American male. Visit
leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes for more information about criminal justice costs in fiscal notes. Page 2
February 9, 2023 SB 23-095
Assumptions. It is a federal crime to aim a laser device at an aircraft under 18 U.S.C. § 39A, enforced
by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and punishable by a civil fine or imprisonment. Due
to the difficulty in identifying individuals performing this act, only about 1 percent of reported laser
strikes result in positive identification. In 2022, about 300 laser strike incidents occurred in Colorado
and this fiscal note assumes that about three cases would be filed as a result of the bill
State Revenue and Expenditures
Based on the assumptions above, this analysis assumes that there will be a minimal impact on state
revenue and expenditures. Under the bill, criminal fines and court fees, which are subject to TABOR,
may increase by a minimal amount. Similarly, any increase in workload and costs for the Judicial
Department, including the trial courts, Division of Probation, and agencies that provide
representation to indigent persons, and to the Department of Corrections, are assumed to be minimal
and no change in appropriations is required.
Local Government
Similar to the state, it is expected that any workload or cost increases for district attorneys to prosecute
additional offenses, or for county jails to imprison additional individuals under the bill will be
minimal. District attorney offices and county jails are funded by counties.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his signature and
takes effect July 1, 2023.
State and Local Government Contacts
Corrections District Attorneys Information Technology
Judicial Sheriffs
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.