FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 490 as introduced eliminates the provision that a person commits the crime of possession of marijuana in the first degree, if he or she possesses marijuana for personal use after being convicted of unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree, which is currently a Class D felony. This bill further (1) requires any subsequent offense for possession of marijuana in the second degree to be prosecuted in the district court in the county where the offense was committed and (2) permits an individual who has been convicted of possession in the first degree as a result of a previous conviction in the second degree to petition the circuit court to have the felony offense reduced to a misdemeanor.

Further, this bill could decrease potential receipts to the State General Fund from fines; decrease potential receipts to the State General Fund, county general funds and other funds to which court costs are deposited; and could decrease potential obligations of the State General Fund, district attorneys, the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Corrections, and community corrections programs by an undetermined amount dependent upon the number of persons no longer charged with and convicted of the offenses eliminated by this bill and the penalties imposed.