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HF 349 – Probation, Early Discharge (LSB1338HV)
Staff Contact: Isabel Waller (515.281.6561) isabel.waller@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 349 provides that an individual on probation may earn discharge credits, educational
credits, and workforce credits that reduce the individual’s term of probation. The maximum
reduction of the individual’s probation term earned through these credits may not exceed 40.0%
of the probation period imposed. The individual may not be discharged from probation until
probation fees and court debt have been paid or are subject to a payment plan.
The Bill establishes the following probation credits:
• A discharge credit of 14 days for each full calendar month in which the individual is in
compliance with the terms of the individual’s probation.
• An educational credit of 90 days when the individual earns a high school diploma, high
school equivalency certificate, or academic degree; or completes a certified vocational,
technical, or career education or training program.
• A workforce credit of 30 days for each 6-month period in which the individual maintains
verifiable employment for at least an average of 30 hours per week.
The Bill also provides that at least twice a year, an individual’s probation officer must provide the
individual with an accounting of the individual’s discharge credits, educational credits, and
workforce credits that have accrued.
The Bill establishes annual reporting requirements for the Department of Corrections (DOC)
related to discharge credits, educational credits, and workforce credits.
The Bill takes effect on July 1, 2024.
Background
According to Iowa Code section 907.1, probation is the procedure under which a defendant,
against whom a judgment of conviction of a public offense has been or may be entered, is
released by the court subject to supervision by a resident of the State or by the
Community-Based Corrections (CBC) judicial district.
Under Iowa Code section 907.9, at any time that the court or the probation officer determines
that the purposes of probation have been fulfilled and probation fees and court debt have been
paid, the court or the probation officer may order the discharge of a person from probation. The
probation officer must have the approval of the CBC district director and notify the sentencing
court and the county attorney who prosecuted the case. The sentencing judge may order a
hearing on its own motion, or must order a hearing upon the request of the county attorney, for
the review of the discharge. Following the hearing, the court must approve or rescind the
discharge. If a hearing is not ordered within 30 days, the person on probation must be
discharged.
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division 2
According to Iowa Code section 907.7, the purposes of probation are to provide maximum
opportunity for the rehabilitation of the defendant and to protect the community from further
offenses by the defendant and others.
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.
• The marginal cost per day of probation is $7.27.
• The DOC will incur costs for programming the Iowa Corrections Offender Network (ICON)
system to calculate and program the credit requirements and to create a report to
summarize credits.
• There are approximately 32,290 individuals who are supervised on probation by the DOC
each year.
• The discharge credit, educational credit, and workforce credit will require probation officer
time to verify compliance with the terms of probation, verify education status, and verify
employment status.
• The DOC reports that each credit will require an additional 1.0 hour of probation officer time
per individual per year to perform the necessary verification, for a total of 3.0 hours per
individual.
• The DOC reports that it will take approximately 0.5 hour of probation officer time per
individual per year to provide each individual with an accounting of credits accrued.
• The hourly rate for a probation officer, including benefits, is $41.65.
• The impact of HF 349 on the LOS on probation cannot be estimated.
Correctional Impact
The correctional impact of HF 349 cannot be estimated. The Division of Criminal and Juvenile
Justice Planning (CJJP) of the Department of Human Rights cannot estimate the number of
individuals who may be discharged from probation earlier under the Bill. According to the DOC,
the Bill may increase the LOS on probation compared to the time individuals currently serve on
probation because the DOC currently discharges individuals from probation when they have met
the terms and conditions of supervision. Table 1 shows the FY 2022 average LOS on probation
served by individuals for all offense classes. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA)
memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact
Statements, dated January 20, 2023, for information related to the correctional system.
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Table 1 — FY 2022 Average LOS on Probation
Minority Impact
The minority impact of HF 349 cannot be estimated because the effect on the LOS of individuals
on probation cannot be determined. Of the individuals on probation in FFY 2022, 72.5% were
Caucasian, 18.3% were African American, and 9.2% were other races. Iowa’s population is
84.5% Caucasian, 3.6% African American, and 11.9% other races. Refer to the LSA memo
addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 20, 2023, for
information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.
Fiscal Impact
According to the DOC, HF 349 will require an additional 54.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions
that will cost $4.7 million in FY 2025 and each year after. Additionally, the DOC estimates that it
will incur approximately $350,000 in one-time costs for ICON system programming in FY 2025.
The DOC estimates that it will annually incur approximately 113,000 hours of staff time costs for
probation officers to verify the discharge, educational, and workforce credits and to account for
the credits to individuals on probation, as shown in Table 2.
Offense Class LOS (Months)
Class B Felony (Persons) 38.3
Class B Felony (Non-Persons) 37.7
Class B Felony (Sex) 53.9
Class C Felony (Persons) 39.0
Class C Felony (Non-Persons) 38.7
Class C Felony (Sex) 48.4
Class D Felony (Persons) 33.2
Class D Felony (Non-Persons) 33.5
Class D Felony (Sex) 47.3
Aggravated Misdemeanor (Persons) --
Aggravated Misdemeanor (Non-Persons) 20.7
Aggravated Misdemeanor (Sex) 26.2
Serious Misdemeanor 13.7 4
Table 2 — Annual Costs to the DOC Under HF 349
The fiscal impact of the change in individuals’ LOS on probation under HF 349 cannot be
estimated. The DOC reports that the Bill may result in increased LOS, but the extent cannot be
estimated. If the Bill does increase the LOS for individuals on probation, this would increase
costs to the DOC. If the Bill decreases the LOS for individuals on probation, this would
decrease costs to the DOC. The marginal cost per day for an individual on probation is $7.27.
Sources
Department of Corrections
Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, Department of Human Rights
Legislative Services Agency
/s/ Jennifer Acton
March 6, 2023
Doc ID 13695081369508
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in developing this
fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov Individuals on
Probation
Staff Time Per
Individual (Hours)
Probation Officer
Hourly Rate Cost
Discharge Credit 32,290 1.0 $41.65 $1,344,879
Educational Credit 32,290 1.0 $41.65 1,344,879
Employment Credit 32,290 1.0 $41.65 1,344,879
Accounting of Credits32,290 0.5 $41.65 672,439
Total Cost $4,707,076