Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1012 by Hilderbran (Relating to the offenses of abuse of a corpse and desecration of cemetery; providing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced
The bill would move existing statutes applicable to the desecration of a cemetery and abuse of a corpse from the Health and Safety Code to the Penal Code. The defacement, obliteration, or desecration of gravestones, monuments and structures within cemeteries or parks designated to preserve the memory of a deceased person(s) is currently punishable as a Class C misdemeanor under the Health and Safety Code. The bill would enhance the offense to a state jail felony once moved to the Penal Code.
The bill would also enhance the offense of abuse of corpse from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony; however, the definition would be expanded to include the desecration of a human corpse or cremated remains and vandalizing, obliterating, or desecrating the space in which a human corpse or the cremated remains of a human corpse have been laid to rest, which are currently punishable as a felony of the third degree under the Health and Safety Code.
A Class C misdemeanor is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.
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 10 years or less than 2 years, or in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.
Enhancing a criminal offense from a misdemeanor to a felony is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of the State due to longer terms of probation or longer terms of confinement in county jails or prison as well as shifting the responsibility from local government to the State in dealing with incarceration expenses. In the case of this bill, however, it is assumed that the number of persons convicted under this statute would not result in a significant impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies.