LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT
 
78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 7, 2003

TO:
Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
 
FROM:
John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB236 by West, George "Buddy" (Relating to the punishment for the offense of obscenity and to certain consequences related to a conviction for an offense involving obscenity.), As Introduced

The bill would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment for the offense of obscenity for behavior identified in the obscenity subchapter of the Penal Code engaged in by children younger than 18 years of age at the time the offenses were committed.  Behavior related to the offense of obscenity currently punishable as a state jail felony would be enhanced to a felony of the third degree, and behavior related to the offense of obscenity currently punishable as a Class A misdemeanor would be enhanced to a state jail felony by the bill.   The bill would also amend the Penal Code by including the conduct addressed by the bill to the conditions that may be used in the penalties for repeat and habitual felony offenders provision of the Penal Code.   The bill would also add offenses addressed by this bill to the Sex Offender Registration Program of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year, a fine not to exceed $4,000, or both fine and imprisonment.

A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for any term of not more than two years or less than 180 days, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.

A third degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than ten years or less than two years, or, in addition to imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to longer terms of probation, or, longer terms of confinement in county jails or prison. When an offense is changed from a misdemeanor to a felony, there is a transfer of the burden of confinement of convicted offenders from the counties to the State.  However, in the case of this bill, it is assumed that the number of offenders convicted under this statute would not result in a significant impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies.


State Jail Felony

 



Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
JK, GG