CONTENTS:

Creates the offenses of criminal use or possession of a chemical or biological weapon, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture thereof, and money laundering in support of terrorism, requires applicants for certain licenses to disclose suspected terrorist linkages, prohibits political subdivisions of the state from conducting business with suspected terrorists, expands the homeland security duties of the Department of Public Safety, and makes other changes to the laws concerning terrorism

State Fiscal Highlights

STATE FUND	FY 2005*	FY 2006	FUTURE YEARS
General Revenue Fund (GRF)
Revenues	- 0 -	- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	- 0 -	Potential increase, likely to be no more than minimal	Potential increase, likely to be no more than minimal
Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund (Fund 402)
Revenues	- 0 -	Potential negligible gain	Potential negligible gain
Expenditures	- 0 -	- 0 -	- 0 -
Non-GRF Department of Public Safety Moneys
Revenues	- 0 -	- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	- 0 -	Potential increase, magnitude uncertain	Potential increase, magnitude uncertain
Non-GRF Department of Transportation Moneys
Revenues	- 0 -	- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	- 0 -	Potential increase, magnitude uncertain	Potential increase, magnitude uncertain

Note: The state fiscal year is July 1 through June 30. For example, FY 2005 is July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005.

* This analysis assumes that any fiscal effects created for the state as a result of the bill will occur no earlier than FY 2006.

· Incarceration expenditures. As a result of the bill’s terrorism related prohibitions, additional offenders may be sentenced to prison and offenders who would have been prison bound under current law may be sentenced to longer terms of incarceration. Either outcome would increase the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s GRF-funded incarceration expenditures, with the size of any such increase likely to be no more than minimal annually. This is because the number of offenders that might be affected by the bill in any given year will likely be extremely small.

· Court cost revenues. Violations of the bill’s terrorism related prohibitions might produce a negligible revenue gain to the Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund (Fund 402) from increased local collection of state court costs for newly classified felonies and misdemeanors.

· Public Safety. The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to develop a questionnaire regarding providing material assistance to a terrorist organization to be given to any applicant for a license or license renewal, or anyone seeking to conduct business with the state or one of its political subdivisions and to make that questionnaire, along with a then-current copy of the U.S. Department of State terrorist exclusion list, available to the state, instrumentalities of the state, and political subdivisions of the state. As of this writing, LSC fiscal staff has not had an opportunity to adequately analyze this provision. Thus, the fiscal effects of this provision, if any, on the state, in particular the Department of Public Safety, and political subdivisions of the state are uncertain.

· Department of Transportation. The bill requires certain aircraft to be registered annually with the Office of Aviation of the Ohio Department of Transportation and permits the Director to impose civil fines under certain circumstances. As of this writing, LSC fiscal staff has not had an opportunity to adequately analyze this provision. Thus, the fiscal effects of this provision on the Department's Office of Aviation, if any, are uncertain.

Local Fiscal Highlights

LOCAL GOVERNMENT		FY 2004	FY 2005	FUTURE YEARS
Counties
Revenues	Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal		Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal	Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal
Expenditures	Increase, likely to be no more than minimal		Increase, likely to be no more than minimal	Increase, likely to be no more than minimal

Note: For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.

· County criminal justice expenditures. The terrorism related prohibitions in the bill amount to conduct for which a person can theoretically at least already face criminal prosecution and punishment under the state’s existing felony sentencing law. Thus, the bill should not really create many new criminal cases for local criminal justice systems to process and can largely be seen as enhancing the potential felony penalties and sentences from what a person might already face under current law. Thus, to the degree that the bill might create local fiscal effects, they would be felt largely by the felony component of county criminal justice systems, as these criminal cases could become more problematic to resolve. If that were to happen, then the costs that a county incurs in prosecuting, adjudicating, and possibly defending indigent persons will increase. The resulting increase in any given county’s annual criminal justice expenditures should be no more than minimal for two reasons: (1) the likelihood that the commission of terrorist acts will continue to be relatively rare criminal events in Ohio, and (2) the likelihood that the federal government would take a lead role in investigating and prosecuting many, if not all, of these terrorist acts and thus incur the associated costs.

· County revenues. The bill could increase the amount of court cost and fine revenue compared to what counties might have collected from offenders under current law. As the commission of terrorist acts have rarely occurred in Ohio and the federal government would probably take a lead role in such matters, the amount of additional court cost and fine revenue that counties may actually collect annually is likely to be no more than minimal.

Detailed Fiscal Analysis

Caveat

There are numerous provisions that have been removed, altered, or added to the substitute bill relative to the previously accepted substitute bill that LSC fiscal staff has not had an adequate opportunity to examine for their effects, if any, for the revenues and expenditures of the state or its political subdivisions. Thus, this fiscal analysis reflects LSC fiscal staff's preliminary review of the substitute bill and its varied provisions.

Terrorism offenses and related provisions

The bill creates terrorism related offenses and other regulatory requirements as follows:

· Extends the statute of limitations indefinitely for terrorism related offenses involving a foreseeable risk of death or serious physical harm.

· Creates the offense of possession, with intent to use, of any chemical or biological weapon, a violation of which would be either a felony of the second or third degree depending on the circumstances.

· Creates the offense of using, deploying or releasing any chemical or biological weapon, a violation of which would be either a felony of the first or second degree depending on the circumstances.

· Creates the offense of assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of chemical or biological weapons, a violation of which would be a felony of the fourth degree.

· Creates the offense of money laundering in support of terrorism, a violation of which would range from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the second degree depending on the amount of money involved.

· Requires applicants for any license or renewal of any license, specified by the Department of Public Safety as involving some element of public risk, to disclose any material assistance that person provided to suspected terrorist organizations listed by the U.S. State Department, with a failure to do so or providing false information being a felony of the fifth degree.

· Requires any prosecutor or judge of a court of record to notify the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section when an illegal alien has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony.

· Requires the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section prior to releasing an alien from its custody and to transfer certain of those aliens to the custody of that Section.

· Requires the Department of Public Safety to adopt rules regarding the security of public-use and private-use airports.

· Requires the Department of Public Safety to develop a questionnaire regarding providing material assistance to a terrorist organization to be given to any applicant for a license or license renewal, or anyone seeking to conduct business with the state or one of its political subdivisions and to make that questionnaire, along with a then-current copy of the U.S. Department of State terrorist exclusion list, available to the state, instrumentalities of the state, and political subdivisions of the state.

· Requires certain aircraft to be registered annually with the Office of Aviation of the Ohio Department of Transportation and permits the Director to impose civil fines under certain circumstances.

Criminal caseload impact

The bill is not likely to affect existing or create many, if any, new criminal cases for local criminal justice systems, in particular counties, to process and resolve for at least three reasons. First, the particular conduct incorporated into the definitions of some of these terrorism related offenses involves, in most instances, activities that already rise to the level of felonies under current law. This means that, if these acts were to be committed in the future absent the bill’s terrorism provisions, these would still be acts for which individuals can be arrested, prosecuted, and sanctioned.

Second, acts of terrorism and support for terrorism, as defined in the bill, have historically been very rare in the state of Ohio.

Third, should acts of terrorism as defined in the bill occur, it is most likely that the federal government would take the lead in such matters under its terrorism laws and assume the associated investigative, prosecutorial, adjudication, and sanctioning costs.

State fiscal effects

Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC)

Incarceration expenditures. As a result of the bill’s terrorism prohibitions, additional offenders may be sentenced to prison and offenders who would have been prison bound under current law may be sentenced to longer terms of incarceration. Either outcome would increase DRC’s GRF-funded incarceration expenditures, with the size of any such increase likely to be no more than minimal annually. This is because the number of offenders that might be affected by the bill in any given year is likely to be extremely small.

It is also possible that many, if not all, of these cases would involve acts of terrorism in which the federal government in all likelihood would take the lead, thus assuming any related offender sanctioning costs, including the expense of sentencing offenders to stays in the federal prison system.

Release of aliens. The bill requires the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section prior to releasing an alien from its custody and to transfer certain of those aliens to the custody of that Section. As of this writing, it would not appear that this requirement will impose a significant and costly ongoing burden for the Department.

Department of Public Safety

Questionnaire development and distribution. The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to develop a questionnaire regarding providing material assistance to a terrorist organization to be given to any applicant for a license or license renewal, or anyone seeking to conduct business with the state or one of its political subdivisions and to make that questionnaire, along with a then-current copy of the U.S. Department of State terrorist exclusion list, available to the state, instrumentalities of the state, and political subdivisions of the state. As of this writing, LSC fiscal staff has not had an opportunity to adequately analyze this provision. Thus, the fiscal effects of this provision, if any, on the state, in particular the Department of Public Safety, and political subdivisions of the state are uncertain.

Department of Transportation

Registration of certain aircraft. The bill: (1) requires certain aircraft to be registered annually with the Office of Aviation of the Ohio Department of Transportation, (2) requires the Office to develop a program to track and enforce the registration of aircraft in this state, and permits the Director to impose civil fines under certain circumstances, and (3) permits the Director to impose a civil fine of not more than $100 for certain violations of the requirement to annually register certain aircraft. As of this writing, LSC fiscal staff has not had an opportunity to adequately analyze this provision. Thus, the fiscal effects of this provision on the Department's Office of Aviation, if any, are uncertain.

Local fiscal effects

County criminal justice systems. The terrorism related prohibitions in the bill amount to conduct for which a person can theoretically at least already face criminal prosecution and punishment under the state’s existing felony sentencing law. Thus, the bill should not really create many new criminal cases for local criminal justice systems to process and can largely be seen as enhancing the potential felony penalties and sentences from what a person might already face under current law. Thus, to the degree that the bill might create local fiscal effects, they would be felt largely by the felony component of county criminal justice systems, as these criminal cases could become more problematic to resolve. If that were to happen, then the costs that a county incurs in prosecuting, adjudicating, and possibly defending indigent persons will increase. The resulting increase in any given county’s annual criminal justice expenditures should be no more than minimal for two reasons: (1) the likelihood that the commission of terrorist acts will continue to be relatively rare criminal events in Ohio, and (2) the likelihood that the federal government would take a lead role in investigating and prosecuting many, if not all, of these terrorist acts and thus incur the associated costs.

The bill could increase the amount of court cost and fine revenue compared to what counties might have collected from offenders under current law. As the commission of terrorist acts have rarely occurred in Ohio and the federal government would probably take a lead role in such matters, the amount of additional court cost and fine revenue that counties may actually collect annually is likely to be no more than minimal.

Municipal criminal justice systems appear to be largely unaffected by the bill. Only the laundering of less than $1,000 in support of terrorism would constitute a misdemeanor under the bill. Thus, the likelihood of any new misdemeanor cases being created would be very small.

Reporting of illegal aliens. The bill requires any prosecutor or judge of a court of record to notify the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section when an illegal alien has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony. As of this writing, it would not appear that this requirement will impose a significant and costly ongoing burden for a county prosecutor or a court of common pleas to perform this notification requirement.

Analytic uncertainties and assumptions

It should also be noted that this fiscal analysis has a certain degree of uncertainty in that the commission of future terrorist acts in Ohio is difficult to predict. To date, the commission of such acts has been rare. This fiscal analysis also assumed that the federal government would use its existing resources and laws to take the lead role in investigating and prosecuting many, if not all, of these future terrorist acts in Ohio, thus eliminating or minimizing the need for any given county or counties to expend their criminal justice resources in processing these criminal cases. It is also very possible that there might be occasions in the future where a county prosecutor might choose to pursue their own parallel criminal case and that such a decision could involve multiple defendants. The resulting costs to that county criminal justice system to process that matter could easily exceed minimal. There is no way, however, to predict when or where in Ohio that might occur.

LSC fiscal staff: Joseph Rogers, Budget Analyst

SB0009SR.doc/lb

BILL:	Sub. S.B. 9		DATE:	March 9, 2005
STATUS:	As Reported by Senate Judiciary--Criminal Justice		SPONSOR:	Sen. Jacobson
LOCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRED:		No —	Minimal cost