148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FISCAL NOTE

Bill: HOUSE BILL NO. 239

sponsor: Representative Dukes

DESCRIPTION: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DISTRIBUTION OR DELIVERY OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE CAUSING DEATH.

ASSUMPTIONS:

1. Effective upon the signature of the Governor.

2. This bill creates the crime of Drug Dealing – Resulting in death. The purpose of this bill is to address the recent spike in deaths resulting from substances such as heroin and fentanyl.

3. A similar law, Title 16 § 4751(c), stating that any person convicted of manufacturing or delivering a Schedule I-V narcotic drug where death occurs as a result of the use or consumption of said drug shall be guilty of a class B felony and fined not more than $100,000, was repealed in September of 2011.

4. The Statistical Analysis Center has reviewed this Act for potential Department of Correction bed space impact. Due to the Act being a proposed new crime similar to that of a previously repealed crime, the Center queried arrest and conviction data from 2006 through 2011 and found zero (0) arrests and zero (0) convictions. The proposed Act is a class B felony with a minimum Level V term of two (2) years and a SENTAC presumptive sentence of two (2) to five (5) years at Level V. Due to the possibility of a Department of Correction bed impact based on the presumptive sentence, but no firm basis for projecting prosecution patterns, the fiscal impact is indeterminable.

Cost:

Fiscal Year 2015 Indeterminable, assumed insignificant

Fiscal Year 2016 Indeterminable, assumed insignificant

Fiscal Year 2017 Indeterminable, assumed insignificant

Office of Controller General (Amounts are shown in whole dollars)

January 20, 2016

SP:CGO

5581480001