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 6892 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 2, 2024
BILL NUMBER: HB 1279 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Sentencing and Incarceration.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Pierce K BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: This bill requires the court to consider certain factors in determining whether a
sentence should be served consecutively or concurrently.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Any increase in DOC’s offender population would be minimal. This
bill does not mandate a court to sentence a defendant to consecutive terms if the defendant has been found
guilty of more than one offense and one of the offenses is a crime of violence. For FY 2023, OFMA found
1,339 unique cases where one of the convictions was for a crime of violence and the person was convicted
of more than one offense.
OFMA cannot determine how many of these sentences are being served consecutively or concurrently.
OFMA did find that of these 1,339 persons, 867 were committed to DOC while 472 were assigned to
community supervision.
The average expenditure to house an adult offender was $28,110 annually, or $76.96 daily, in FY 2023. (This
does not include the cost of new construction.) If offenders can be housed in existing facilities with no
additional staff, the marginal cost for medical care, food, and clothing is approximately $4,456 annually, or
$12.21 daily, per prisoner. The marginal cost estimates are based on contractual agreements with food and
medical vendors and projections based on prior years for clothing and hygiene.
Explanation of State Revenues:
HB 1279 1 Explanation of Local Expenditures: Trial courts should be able to be implement this new requirement with
no additional resources, assuming near customary agency staffing and resource levels. These 1,339 cases
occurred in 86 counties In 66 of these counties, there were 12 or fewer cases in FY 2023.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Correction
Local Agencies Affected: Courts with criminal jurisdiction; prosecuting attorneys
Information Sources: Abstracts of Judgment, Indiana Supreme Court; Department of Correction
Fiscal Analyst: Mark Goodpaster, 317-232-9852.
HB 1279 2