Honorable Terry Keel, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1574 by Miller (Relating to the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a person's identifying information.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The bill would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment for the offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information from a state jail felony to a felony of the third degree if the offender uses identifying information from a deceased natural person, including a stillborn infant or fetus, without legal authorization.
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.
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. 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.