LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6811 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 11, 2022
BILL NUMBER: HB 1004 BILL AMENDED: Jan 6, 2022
SUBJECT: Department of Correction.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Frye R BILL STATUS: As Passed House
FIRST SPONSOR: Sen. Koch
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: This bill has the following provisions:
A. Updates of Certain Terms – It amends and updates certain terms involving direct placement in a
community corrections program. It updates the definition of "community corrections program".
B. Direct Placement Supervision for Executed Time – It specifies that a court may suspend any portion
of a sentence and order a person to be placed in a community corrections program for the part of the
sentence which must be executed.
C. Credit Time – It provides that a person placed on a level of supervision as part of a community
corrections program: (1) is entitled to earned good time credit; (2) may not earn educational credit;
and (3) may be deprived of earned good time credit.
D. Placement on Probation – It provides that when a person completes a placement program, the court
may place the person on probation.
E. Level 6 Felons – It provides that a court may commit a person convicted of a Level 6 felony to the
Department of Correction (DOC). (Current law provides that, under certain circumstances, a person
convicted of a Level 6 felony may not be committed to DOC.)
F. It makes conforming changes.
Effective Date: July 1, 2022.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Summary - This bill could increase DOC’s inmate population if more
Level 6 felons are placed in DOC’s facilities.
Additional Information - Placement of Level 6 Felons in DOC – This provision would likely increase DOC’s
HB 1004 1 population by an indeterminable amount. The number of persons who might be committed to DOC instead
of being placed in either a county jail or community correction program is not known and would be at the
discretion of the sentencing court. Sentencing courts would likely consider the capacity of the county’s jail
and whether substance abuse and mental health treatment are available in the county when determining
whether to commit the person to DOC.
Any net change in state expenditures will depend on the number of Level 6 felons who might be committed
to DOC instead of being housed in a county jail. For each day that a person is housed in an existing DOC
facility with no additional staff, the marginal cost for medical care, food, and clothing is approximately
$4,333 annually, or $11.67 daily, per prisoner. When Level 6 felons are housed in county jails instead,
sheriffs receive a per diem reimbursement based on a formula developed by DOC from a $25.3 M
appropriation for FY 2022 and FY 2023 in the state budget.
Increasing the number of persons who would be committed to DOC could also increase the number of felons
who could await transportation to DOC facilities. When persons are committed to DOC they first are
assigned to the Reception Diagnostic Center (RDC) for medical, psychological and security assessments.
RDC can evaluate between 800 and 1,000 persons per month. If more Level 6 offenders are committed to
DOC beyond RDC’s capacity, committed persons who are waiting in county jails to be transported to RDC
would be required to be housed in county jails for longer periods of time. Sheriffs can be reimbursed up to
$40 per day for each day beyond five days that any committed felon is held while awaiting transportation
to RDC.
To illustrate the possible number of new commitments to DOC, LSA compared the total commitments over
time between CY 2012 and 2020. The restriction on commitments of Level 6 felons to DOC became effective
July 1, 2015. In the following table, the number of persons who were committed to DOC between CY 2012
and CY 2014 were compared with the number of persons committed to DOC between CY 2016 and CY
2019. (CY 2015 was excluded because the effective date was in the middle of 2015. CY 2020 was excluded
because of the effect of COVID.) The table shows that the average annual number of persons committed to
DOC is less than 40% for the 3 years between CY 2012 and CY 2014 as compared with the average number
committed between CY 2016 and CY 2019. The extent of this difference in total commitments to DOC is
due to the restriction of Level 6 felons is likely significant.
Number of Persons Committed or Recommitted to DOC by Calendar Year
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
14,054 15,548 14,678 12,084 8,822 9,020 8,904 8,612 5,447
14,760 (3 year average) effective
July 1, 2015
8,840 (4 year average) Excluded
due to
COVID
In FY 2021, 28,589 persons were convicted and sentenced for a Level 6 felony. Of these, 15,936 were placed
in a county jail for one or more days, 10,929 were in community supervision and 223 had sentences that were
either suspended or appeared to serve their full time pretrial. While their length of stay in DOC upon
commitment cannot be determined, the maximum sentence for a Level 6 felony is 30 months (2.5 years).
Persons who are committed to DOC for a Level 6 felony receive good time credit of one day for each day
served.
HB 1004 2 Direct Placement Supervision for Executed Time – This provision could reduce the population in DOC
facilities, depending on the discretion of the sentencing court.
The following table shows the number of persons who were convicted and sentenced for either Level 2 or
Level 3 felonies and committed to DOC as part of an executed sentence. Because these persons were
sentenced for either dealing or possession of controlled substances under IC 35-48 they could be eligible for
direct commitment to a community corrections agency under IC 35-38-2.6-1.
Persons Committed to DOC by Felony Level
FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021
Level 2 44 119 242 358 342 371 362
Level 3 25 126 198 292 359 388 269
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures: Placement on Probation – This provision should have little to no
effect on the supervised population on probation. Currently, when a person placed on community corrections
programs completes the program, the court is required to place the person on probation. An estimated 2%
of persons who were placed on probation after being in community corrections. This is based on the
Abstracts of Judgment of persons who were placed on community correction in lieu of DOC or county jail.
Level 6 Felons – Counties committing more Level 6 felons to DOC would receive less in reimbursements
from this funding source, but they would save an indeterminable amount if the Level 6 felons are committed
to DOC. The average cost per day is approximately $54 based on the per diem payments reported by U.S.
Marshals to house federal prisoners in 16 county jails across Indiana during federal FY 2017.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Correction.
Local Agencies Affected: Courts with criminal jurisdiction; prosecuting attorneys; community corrections
agencies; probation departments.
Information Sources: Department of Correction; Abstracts of Judgment, Indiana Supreme Court; U.S.
Department of Justice Marshals Service.
Fiscal Analyst: Mark Goodpaster, 317-232-9852.
HB 1004 3