Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2296 by Cook, Robby (Relating to the reduction of a state jail felony prosecution to a misdemeanor prosecution.), As Engrossed
The bill would amend the Penal Code by allowing the court to authorize, at the request of the prosecuting attorney, the prosecution of a state jail felony as a Class A misdemeanor. Under current law, a court may punish a defendant who is convicted of a state jail felony by imposing the confinement permissible for a Class A misdemeanor.
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.
By potentially lowering the range of sanctions for selected offenders, the bill could potentially decrease community supervision and incarceration populations. Such decreases would depend on the extent to which the punishment for state jail felons would be decreased as provided by the bill.