The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis are provisions dealing with the enhancement of sanctions.  The bill would enhance the punishment for the possession or use of an illegal communication device or unauthorized access device from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the offense is committed with respect to five or more unauthorized devices in a single criminal episode. 

The bill would also enhance the punishment for the manufacture, distribution, sale, lease, or advertisement of an illegal communication device or unauthorized access device from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony depending on the number of unauthorized devices involved in the criminal episode.  The offense would be enhanced to a felony of the third degree, depending on prior convictions for similar offenses.  

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, for the purposes of this analysis 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 or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.  Although an increase in correctional populations could reasonably be anticipated from the provisions of the bill, an accurate estimate of persons impacted by the bill is not possible due to the lack of data on the number of persons involved in behavior identified by the bill.