Justice & Public Safety

Review of the House JPS Budget

Highlights of the House Justice & Public Safety Budget Total General Fund budget of $2.09 billion; nearly half is dedicated to prisons. Increase of 1.6 percent over 2007-08; increase of 14.9 percent over 2006-07. Adds 315 new positions (79 new positions plus those authorized for 2008-09 last year). Authorizes $90 million in special indebtedness (COPs) for prison expansion - $45 million for women’s health and mental health care and $45 million for new wings at three men’s prisons. Provides $12.7 million in capital for JPS agencies. Significant or Contentious Items: $3 million for to-be-determined improvements to the probation system; outside study of probation system; separate study of probation officer compensation. $1 million for the cost of victims’ rape examinations, including insurance co-pays. New substance abuse treatment facility for women parolees and probationers. Repeal of the provision passed last year shifting the cost of courthouse telephone systems from the State to counties (see amendments on reverse). Elimination of some of the expansion approved last year, including three special superior court judges and staff. These positions were included in the 2007-09 budget but were not requested by the court system. Inclusion of the Director of the Office of Indigent Defense Services in the judicial retirement system. $1 million for the N.C. Sheriff’s Association to providing training and technical assistance for immigration enforcement. Budget an anticipated increase of $1.5 million in federal receipts for reimbursement for incarcerating illegal aliens. Establish reserves to fund costs associated with HB 44 (makes repeated violation of a domestic violence protection order a felony) and SB 869 (requires sex offenders to register email addresses) if those bills pass. No other reserves for pending legislation. Allows the Dept. of Correction to pay for temporary housing for homeless offenders on probation or parole – housing is limited places such as shelters and halfway houses – locations such as hotels and nursing homes were prohibited by amendment. Two policy issues to be studied: (1) The impact of increasing the maximum age for the juvenile criminal justice system from under 16 to under 18. (2) Identification of misdemeanors that should be decriminalized. Continuation Review Results: Four JPS programs were placed on continuation review in 2007-08. This meant they received one-time money instead of their usual recurring appropriation, and had to prove their effectiveness in order to be funded in 2008-09. The budget proposed in House Appropriations restored – and expanded – funding for two of the four programs. House Floor amendments restored funding for the other two programs. Criminal Justice Partnership Program: Restored all $9.2 million in funding and increased funding by another $500,000. Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils: Restored all $22.7 million in funding and increased funding by another $1 million. New language requires more detailed annual reports and a study of the funding distribution formula. Conference of District Attorneys and Conference of Clerks: House Appropriations budget did not restore funds for these conferences. An amendment on the floor restored all $523,000 and all 7 positions. Items that showed up in the Appropriations and Floor amendment processes: $200,000 for the Land Loss Prevention Project and the Financial Protection Law Center to assist low-income homeowners with legal issues related to foreclosure. $110,000 in two reserves ($100,000 for the courts, $10,000 for sheriffs) to implement HB 44 if it becomes law. HB 44 increases the penalty for a second violation of a domestic violence protection order (current law increases the penalty on the fourth violation). Funds cut from indigent defense are instead used to repeal the 2007 provision shifting responsibility for funding courthouse telephone systems from the State to the counties. (Still leaves about a $700,000 reduction in telephone funding.) $174,321 for new equipment in the SBI Crime Lab. Eliminate the funds ($200,000) allocated for evaluating the Support Our Students program funded through Juvenile Justice. Change funding for the National Guard’s Tarheel Challenge dropout prevention program from recurring to nonrecurring to match the requirement for a continuation review of the program. However, the budget still contains expansion funds of $193,000 (non-recurring) for Tarheel Challenge. $200,000 for Operation Kids on Guard to help children of National Guard members cope with deployment fears. House Floor amendment to reduce funds for representation of indigent defendants: Governor’s budget had $3 million in one-time funds to fund increased demand for private attorneys who represent indigent criminal defendants; House Appropriations budget had $1 million in one-time funds; Final House budget eliminates the $1 million funding and also cuts $1.6 million of the funds approved last year to expand public defenders in the state. Nearly $300,000 increase in chemical dependency treatment for male inmates. Reduction of nearly $700,000 in the expansion of contractual funds for the Department of Correction (net expansion now $1.2 million) – this expansion item was reduced to fund three different items through amendments.