| TO: | Honorable Aaron Pena, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB8 by Riddle (Relating to the prosecution, punishment, and supervision of certain sex offenders and to certain crimes involving sex offenders.), As Introduced |
The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment of the offense of indecency with a child and the offense of sexual performance by a child. The punishment for the offense of indecency with a child would be enhanced from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree if the victim of the offense is younger than 14 years of age at the time of the offense. The punishment for the offense of sexual performance by a child would be enhanced from a felony of the second degree, or a felony of the third degree, to a felony of the first degree if the victim of the offense is younger than 14 years of age at the time of the offense.
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.
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 confinement, 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.
For fiscal year 2006, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) received 633 offenders for the offenses of indecency with a child, and sexual performance of a child. Based on a sample of fiscal year 2006 TDCJ intakes for sexually violent offenses committed against children, it is estimated that 537 (84%) of the 633 second degree offenders committed their offense against children under the age of 14 (633 X 84% = 537). In order to estimate the future impact of the proposal, the changes proposed for admission and release policy are applied in a discrete event simulation model that calculates the differences in sentencing and release policy based on whether the offenders are treated as second degree felons or first degree felons.
| Fiscal Year | Increase In Demand For Prison Capacity | Decrease In Release Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 9 | 9 |
| 2011 | 27 | 27 |
| 2012 | 56 | 56 |
Given the proposal would apply to offenses committed on or after September 1, 2007, and that under current law and policy, individuals convicted of sexually violent offenses serve a very high percentage of their sentence (85%), the full impact of this proposal will not be realized in the first five years of implementation. The simulation model indicates that the impact of these enhancement provisions of the bill would not be significant in the first five years following passage; however, the additional time served requirements of the bill would likely result in the need for an additional 489 beds by fiscal year 2027.
| Source Agencies: | 537 State Health Services, Department of, 696 Department of Criminal Justice
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, GG
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