TO:	Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB326 by Zaffirini (Relating to using the Internet to obtain identifying information of another person for a fraudulent purpose; providing penalties.), As Introduced

The bill would amend the Business & Commerce Code by creating the offense of Internet Fraud.  A person would commit a felony of the third degree by engaging in electronic mail fraud or creating an Internet website or domain name for fraudulent purposes.
 
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.
 
The creation of a new 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.  The impact of the bill would depend on the number of persons caught and convicted of the offense; however, in the case of this bill, the increased workload and demand for resources would probably not be substantial.