The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis would amend the Family Code and Penal Code as they relate to felony level offense sanctions.  The Family Code would be amended by enhancing the punishment for the act of knowingly filing a false report of child abuse or neglect with the intent to deceive from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.  The bill would also amend the Family Code by enhancing the punishment for repeat offenses of knowingly filing false reports of child abuse or neglect if done with an intent to deceive.  The punishment for repeat offenders would be enhanced from the present punishment of a state jail felony to a felony of the third degree.  The Family Code would be further amended as it relates to the minimum age requirements for parental consent of marriage, and conducting marriage ceremonies with minors whose marriage is prohibited by law. 
 
The bill would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment by one class for the offense of sexual assault and the offense of prohibited sexual conduct when the offense of bigamy or certain categories of bigamy are involved.  The bill would also enhance the offense of bigamy from a Class A misdemeanor to a felony of the third degree.  The offense would be further enhanced to a felony of the second degree if the person whom the actor marries or purports to marry or with whom the actor lives under the appearance of being married were 16 years of age.  If the person were younger than 16 years of age the offense would be punishable as a felony of the first degree. 

The Penal Code would be amended further by making intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence by omission causing certain injuries to a child, elderly, or disabled individual who is a resident of a group home or facility by the owner, operator, or employee of the home or facility punishable by punishments ranging from a state jail felony to a first degree felony.
 
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 ten years or less than two years, or in addition to imprisonment, 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 imprisonment, 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.
 
Creating felony sanctions or 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. When an offense is changed from a misdemeanor to a felony, there is a transfer of the burden of confinement of convicted offenders from the counties to the State.  In the case of this bill, however, the increased workload and demand for resources would probably not be substantial.