Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB27 by Callegari (Relating to the penalties for intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter and to the sentencing of defendants convicted of those offenses.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code by allowing for the possibility for certain multiple intoxication offenses to be served as consecutive sentences. The bill would also enhance the punishment for the offense of intoxication assault from a felony of the third degree to a felony of the second degree if the person causes serious bodily injury to a public servant while the public servant was in the discharge of an official duty. Punishment for the offense of intoxication manslaughter would also be enhanced from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree if the person caused the death of a public servant while the public servant was in the discharge of an official duty.
A third degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.
A second degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than 2 years, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.
A first degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, or in addition to imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $10,000.
It is assumed that the number of offenders convicted for intoxication assault that would receive consecutive sentences under this proposal 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. As a comparison, of the 657 offenders in prison as of August 31, 2004 for intoxication manslaughter, only 4 percent were serving sentences consecutively for the commission of more than one offense. It is also assumed that the penalty for causing serious bodily injury or death to a public servant by offenders convicted of intoxication assault or manslaughter may result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of the State due to longer terms of probation or longer terms of confinement in prison; however, the increased workload would probably not be substantial.