Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1539 by Hamric (Relating to the punishment of the offense of trespassing and to requiring certain defendants convicted of that offense to register as sex offenders.), As Introduced
The provision of the bill that is the subject of this analysis would amend the Penal Code by expanding the definition of criminal trespass to make the offense of criminal trespass punishable as a state jail felony if the offense is committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. The bill would also enhance the punishment of criminal trespass from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the offense is committed in a habitation or shelter center or the actor carries a deadly weapon on or about his person during the commission of the offense.
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.
For fiscal year 2004 there were 369 Class A misdemeanor community supervision placements for the offense of trespassing. The bill would enhance the punishment for Class A misdemeanors, except for those Class A misdemeanor trespass offenders that committed their offense on a Superfund site. For this analysis it is assumed that 50% of the 369 Class A misdemeanor trespassing offenses did not occur on a Superfund site and would therefore apply to 184 offenders. Based on historical state jail sentencing data, it is assumed that 95 of the offenders each year would be sentenced directly to a term of incarceration in a state jail facility and that 89 offenders each year would be sentenced to a term of community supervision.
Assuming that sentencing patterns and release policies not addressed in this bill remain constant, the probable impact of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage, in terms of daily demand upon the adult corrections agencies, is estimated as follows: