FISCAL NOTE

Senate Bill 6 as introduced revises the process for certain individuals that have been convicted of certain crimes to have their voting rights restored by requiring the Board of Pardons and Paroles (Board) to conduct a review of individuals that have been released from incarceration, pardoned, or has successfully completed probation or parole and released from compliance by the ordering entity in order to determine an individual's eligibility to receive a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote. This will increase the administrative obligations of the Board by an undetermined amount dependent upon the increase in the number of persons the Board will now have to determine eligibility for versus the number of persons that currently apply to have their voting rights restored.

Further, this bill could increase the obligations of the Board, by an undetermined amount, to (1) establish a community service program, by December 31, 2022, for indigent individuals to offset the payment of court fines, court costs, and fees; and (2) submit an annual report to the Legislative Council on the non-profit programs offered, the use of resources, and the effectiveness of the program.

This bill also requires (1) the Board and the Secretary of State to develop and publish on their respective websites by September 1, 2023, instructions for individuals that became eligible for a Certificate of Eligibility prior to the effective date of this bill to submit a request for review; (2) the Board to notify the Secretary of State when an individual has received a Certificate of Eligibility or when the Board has suspended the voting rights of an individual for failure to comply with the community service program; and (3) the Secretary of State to notify the local board of registrars of the date an individual has received his or her Certificate of Eligibility or the date the individual has had his or her voting rights suspended.

This bill could decrease revenues to the State General Fund, county general funds and other funds that court costs are deposited into by an undetermined amount dependent upon the number of indigent individuals who qualify to participate in a community service program and would no longer be required to pay assessed fines, court costs, and fees to become eligible for a Certificate of Eligibility.

As substituted and reported by the Committee on Judiciary, to provide for 1) the elimination of the Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote; 2) the order in which circuit clerks shall prioritize payments applied to fines, court costs, fees, and restitution; 3) the Board to provide to the Secretary of State the address and the date of voting rights restoration of an individual who lost his or her right to vote, and post the names of individuals whose voting rights have been restored, on the Board’s website, when the Board does not have a known address; 4) the elimination of the requirement for the Board to notify the Secretary of State of a suspension of voting rights for failure to comply with the community service program; and 5) the individual in a community service program to receive an hourly credit, based on the federal minimum wage, to be applied as a credit in the same prioritized manner by the circuit clerk, to outstanding fines, court costs, fees and restitution.