LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

SENATE, No. 3821

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: DECEMBER 22, 2021

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Concerns sexual abuse investigations in State correctional facilities.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure increase to the General Fund.

Agencies Affected:

Department of Corrections.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 

 

State Cost Increase

 

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

 

·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that the Department of Corrections (DOC) would incur an additional expense, possibly annually, for specialized training for investigators at the Special Investigations Division (SID) responsible for conducting sexual abuse investigations in State correctional facilities.  The bill does not specify the frequency or the number of hours required for the completion of the specialized training.  The OLS estimates that these costs maybe offset marginally by the penalties collected from non-compliant SID officers.

 

·         According to informal information provided by the DOC, although the costs are difficult to estimate, since the bill calls for in-service training, there should be little or no overtime cost incurred for SID investigators to attend the training.  The DOC points out that there may be costs associated with additional materials, training manuals, train-the-trainer and other courses, but the costs should not be significant.

 

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill requires specialized training for corrections officers who conduct sexual abuse investigations in State correctional facilities; imposes disclosure and recusal requirements on these investigators if they have a personal relationship with an officer being investigated; and prohibits federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) compliance officers from serving as investigators. 

      The bill specifically requires corrections officers assigned to the SID in a State correctional facility to be trained in how to conduct sexual abuse investigations.  The training is to include the proper use of warnings against self-incrimination, such as the right to refuse to answer questions and have a lawyer present when questioned.  The training also is to cover proper collection of sexual abuse evidence in a confinement setting and the criteria and evidence required to substantiate a case that is referred for administrative action or to the county prosecutor.  The bill requires that satisfactory completion of this training be documented.  

      The bill also requires corrections officers assigned to SID to disclose any personal relationship they have with a staff member of the facility.  These officers are required by the bill to recuse themselves from any investigation of the staff member.  An officer who does not comply with these reporting and recusal requirements is subject to a fine of between $2,500 and $5,000, as well as internal departmental disciplinary action by the Department of Corrections. 

      Finally, the bill prohibits any State correctional facility employee who is responsible for coordinating compliance with the provisions of PREA, including the facility’s institutional PREA compliance manager, from serving as a sexual abuse investigator in the SID.  

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      The Executive Branch has not submitted a formal fiscal note on this bill.  However, the DOC has indicated informally that providing an estimated cost of the training required under this bill would be difficult.  The DOC notes that some of the training required under this bill is already provided to investigators in SID.  Since the bill calls for in-service training, there should be little or no overtime cost incurred for SID investigators to attend.  The DOC points out that there may be costs associated with additional materials, training manuals, train-the-trainer and other courses, but per the fiscal unit at the department, the costs should not be significant.  As of August 2021, SID had 82 investigative staff members (The DOC notes that the bill’s reference to “correctional police officers” assigned to the SID should be corrected to “investigators,” as correctional police officers are not assigned to the SID).

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS estimates that the DOC would incur an additional expense, possibly annually, for specialized training for corrections officers (referred to as “investigators” in this analysis) at the SID responsible for conducting sexual abuse investigations in State correctional facilities.  In a fiscal estimate for S-2532 (1R) of the 2018-2019 session (P.L.2019, c.410), the OLS concurred with the DOC that an additional four hours of in-service training to corrections officers for the prevention of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment would cost an estimated $1.4 million annually.  However, the expense was largely limited to overtime hours incurred due to officers vacating their posts for mandatory training.  According to the DOC, the in-service training hours will not have the same impact as DOC officers on the SID investigators so overtime costs would be drastically reduced or eliminated.  The bill is unclear on the number of training hours investigators at the SID would have to complete to fulfill the requirements of this bill or how frequently the training would have to be completed.

Section:

Judiciary

Analyst:

Anuja Pande Joshi

Associate Research Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).