FISCAL NOTE
L.R. No.: 0996H.01I Bill No.: HB 507 Subject: Elections; County Officials Type: Original Date: February 17, 2025
Bill Summary: This proposal modifies provisions relating to elections.
FISCAL SUMMARY
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE FUND FUND FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully AFFECTED Implemented (FY 2030)
General Revenue ($43,687) ($106,947) ($163,629) ($238,335)
Total Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue ($43,687) ($106,947) ($163,629) ($238,335)
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON OTHER STATE FUNDS FUND FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully AFFECTED Implemented (FY 2030)
Total Estimated Net Effect on Other State Funds $0 $0 $0 $0 Numbers within parentheses: () indicate costs or losses. L.R. No. 0996H.01I Bill No. HB 507 Page 2 of 9 February 17, 2025
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDS FUND FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully AFFECTED Implemented (FY 2030)
Total Estimated Net Effect on All Federal Funds $0 $0 $0 $0
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE) FUND FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully AFFECTED Implemented (FY 2030)
Total Estimated Net Effect on FTE 0 0 0 $0
☐ Estimated Net Effect (expenditures or reduced revenues) expected to exceed $250,000 in any of the three fiscal years after implementation of the act or at full implementation of the act.
☐ Estimated Net Effect (savings or increased revenues) expected to exceed $250,000 in any of the three fiscal years after implementation of the act or at full implementation of the act.
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON LOCAL FUNDS FUND FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully AFFECTED Implemented (FY 2030)
Local Government $0 $0 $0 $0
BR:LR:OD L.R. No. 0996H.01I Bill No. HB 507 Page 3 of 9 February 17, 2025
FISCAL ANALYSIS
ASSUMPTION
Section 115.638 – Commits the offense of tampering with an election official
Officials from the Department of Corrections (DOC) state Section 115.638 is created to include the offense of Tampering with an Election Official. The offense of tampering with an election official is a class one election offense, unless it results in death or bodily injury to an election official or their family, in which case it is a class B felony.
Class one election offense shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than five years or by fine of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars but not more than ten thousand dollars by 115.631. This is equal to a class D felony offense.
For each new violent class D felony, the department estimates four people could be sentenced to prison and four to probation. The average sentence for a violent class D felony offense is 5.7 years, of which 4 years could be served in prison with 3 years to first release. The remaining 1.7 years could be on parole. Probation sentences could be 4 years. The cumulative impact on the department is estimated to be 16 additional offenders in prison and 23 additional offenders on field supervision by FY 2032.
Change in prison admissions and probation openings with legislation
FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030 FY2031 FY2032 FY2033 FY2034 FY2035 New Admissions Current Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 After Legislation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Probation Current Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 After Legislation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Change (After Legislation - Current Law) Admissions 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Probations 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Cumulative Populations Prison 4 8 12 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Parole 0 0 0 0 4 7 7 7 7 7 Probation 4 8 12 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Impact 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Prison Population 4 8 12 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Field Population 4 8 12 16 20 23 23 23 23 23 Population Change 8 16 24 32 36 39 39 39 39 39
Given the seriousness of class B felony offenses and that the introduction of a completely new class B felony offense is a rare event, the department assumes the admission of one person per year to prison following the passage of the legislative proposal.
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Offenders committed to prison with a class B felony as their most serious sentence, have an average sentence length of 9.0 years and serve, on average, 3.4 years in prison prior to first release. The department assumes one third of the remaining sentence length could be served in prison as a parole return, and the rest of the sentence could be served on supervision in the community. The cumulative impact on the department is estimated to be 5 additional offenders in prison and 4 additional offenders on field supervision by FY 2034.
Combined Cumulative Estimated Impact of HB 507 (0996H.01I) The combined cumulative estimated impact on the department is 21 additional offenders in prison and 27 fewer offenders on field supervision by FY 2034. Change in prison admissions and probation openings with legislation
FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030 FY2031 FY2032 FY2033 FY2034 FY2035 New Admissions Current Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 After Legislation 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Probation Current Law 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 After Legislation 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Change (After Legislation - Current Law) Admissions 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Probations 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Cumulative Populations Prison 5 10 15 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 Parole 0 0 0 0 4 8 9 10 11 11 Probation 4 8 12 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 Impact Prison Population 5 10 15 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 Field Population 4 8 12 16 20 24 25 26 27 27 Population Change 9 18 27 36 41 45 46 47 48 48
BR:LR:OD L.R. No. 0996H.01I Bill No. HB 507 Page 5 of 9 February 17, 2025
* If this impact statement has changed from statements submitted in previous years, it could be due to an increase/decrease in the number of offenders, a change in the cost per day for institutional offenders, and/or an increase in staff salaries.
If the projected impact of legislation is less than 1,500 offenders added to or subtracted from the department’s institutional caseload, the marginal cost of incarceration will be utilized. This cost of incarceration is $28.73 per day or an annual cost of $10,485 per offender and includes such costs as medical, food, and operational E&E. However, if the projected impact of legislation is 1,500 or more offenders added or removed to the department’s institutional caseload, the full cost of incarceration will be used, which includes fixed costs. This cost is $100.25 per day or an annual cost of $36,591 per offender and includes personal services, all institutional E&E, medical and mental health, fringe, and miscellaneous expenses. None of these costs include construction to increase institutional capacity.
DOC’s cost of probation or parole is determined by the number of P&P Officer II positions that are needed to cover its caseload. The DOC average district caseload across the state is 51 offender cases per officer. An increase/decrease of 51 cases would result in a cost/cost avoidance equal to the salary, fringe, and equipment and expenses of one P&P Officer II. Increases/decreases smaller than 51 offender cases are assumed to be absorbable.
In instances where the proposed legislation would only affect a specific caseload, such as sex offenders, the DOC will use the average caseload figure for that specific type of offender to calculate cost increases/decreases.
D and E felony
Total cost Grand Total - Change in for Prison and probation probation # to Probation # to Cost per Total Costs for & parole and parole probation & (includes 2% prison year prison officers parole inflation)
Year 1 5 ($10,485) ($43,687) 0 $0 4 ($43,687) Year 2 10 ($10,485) ($106,947) 0 $0 8 ($106,947) Year 3 15 ($10,485) ($163,629) 0 $0 12 ($163,629) Year 4 20 ($10,485) ($222,535) 0 $0 16 ($222,535) Year 5 21 ($10,485) ($238,335) 0 $0 20 ($238,335) Year 6 21 ($10,485) ($243,102) 0 $0 24 ($243,102) Year 7 21 ($10,485) ($247,964) 0 $0 25 ($247,964) Year 8 21 ($10,485) ($252,923) 0 $0 26 ($252,923) Year 9 21 ($10,485) ($257,982) 0 $0 27 ($257,982) Year 10 21 ($10,485) ($263,141) 0 $0 27 ($263,141)
BR:LR:OD L.R. No. 0996H.01I Bill No. HB 507 Page 6 of 9 February 17, 2025
Officials from the Department of Public Safety - Missouri Highway Patrol assume the proposal will have no fiscal impact on their organization. Oversight does not have any information to the contrary. Therefore, Oversight will reflect a zero impact in the fiscal note for this agency.
In response to a similar proposal, SB 84 (2025), officials from the Office of the State Courts Administrator assumed the proposal would have no fiscal impact on their organization. Oversight does not have any information to the contrary. Therefore, Oversight will reflect a zero impact in the fiscal note for this agency.
Sections 115.125, 115.127, 115.277, 115.284, 115.430 & 115.453 – Modifies provisions relation to elections
Officials from the Jackson County Election Board, the Platte County Board of Elections, the St. Charles County Election Authority, the St. Louis City Board of Elections and the St. Louis County Board of Elections each assume no fiscal impact from this legislation.
Rule Promulgation
Officials from the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) note many bills considered by the General Assembly include provisions allowing or requiring agencies to submit rules and regulations to implement the act. The SOS is provided with core funding to handle a certain amount of normal activity resulting from each year's legislative session. The fiscal impact for this fiscal note to the SOS for Administrative Rules is less than $5,000. The SOS recognizes that this is a small amount and does not expect that additional funding would be required to meet these costs. However, the SOS also recognizes that many such bills may be passed by the General Assembly in a given year and that collectively the costs may be in excess of what the office can sustain with its core budget. Therefore, the SOS reserves the right to request funding for the cost of supporting administrative rules requirements should the need arise based on a review of the finally approved bills signed by the governor.
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FISCAL IMPACT – State FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully Government (10 Mo.) Implemented (FY 2030)
GENERAL REVENUE
Cost – DOC (§115.638) Increased Incarceration Costs ($43,687) ($106,947) ($163,629) ($238,335)
ESTIMATED TOTAL NET EFFECT TO GENERAL REVENUE ($43,687) ($106,947) ($163,629) ($238,335)
FISCAL IMPACT – Local FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Fully Government (10 Mo.) Implemented (FY 2030)
$0 $0 $0 $0
FISCAL IMPACT – Small Business
No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.
FISCAL DESCRIPTION This bill allows a notice of election to be sent by email.
The bill moves the filing dates for a declaration of candidacy in certain political subdivisions and special districts back by one week, from the 17th Tuesday prior to the election until the 14th Tuesday prior to the election, to the 16th Tuesday prior to the election until the 13th Tuesday prior to the election.
Currently, covered voters eligible to register to vote may vote in certain elections by submitting a federal postcard application to apply to vote at their polling place. This bill changes this requirement from the polling place to the office of the election authority on election day.
Currently, interstate former residents and new residents may vote absentee for presidential and vice presidential electors. This bill allows them to vote for those electors at the office of the election authority on election day.
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This bill provides that all lists of absentee ballot applications for people with permanent disabilities will be kept confidential and must not be posted or displayed in an area open to the general public nor shown to any unauthorized person.
This bill allows a provisional ballot to be cast in any public election.
The bill provides that votes for write-in candidates must only be counted for candidates who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, even if no candidate has filed for that office.
This bill establishes the offense of tampering with an election official.
A person commits the offense of tampering with an election official if they, with the purpose to harass or intimidate an election official in the performance of their official duties: (1) Threaten to harm or cause harm to an election official or a member of their family; (2) Use force, threats, or deception against an election official or member of their family; (3) Attempt to pressure an election official or member of their family to violate a provision of election law; (4) Engage in conduct reasonably calculated to harass or alarm an election official or member of their family, including stalking; or (5) Dox an election official or member of their family.
The offense of tampering with an election official is a class one election offense. If a violation results in death or bodily injury to an election official or a member of their family, the offense is a class B felony.
This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Office of the Secretary of State Department of Corrections Office of the State Courts Administrator Missouri Highway Patrol Jackson County Election Board Platte County Board of Elections St. Charles Election Authority St. Louis City Board of Elections St. Louis County Board of Elections
Julie Morff Jessica Harris Director Assistant Director February 17, 2025 February 17, 2025
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Statutes affected: