Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB460 by Miller (Relating to the offense of fradulent use or possession of a person's identifying information. ), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
The bill would amend the Penal Code by further defining the conditions that define the offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information to include, with the intent to harm or defraud another, obtains an item of identifying information of a deceased natural person, including a stillborn infant or fetus without legal authorization. The offense, which is currently punishable as a state jail felony, would be punishable as a state jail felony, third degree felony, second degree felony, or first degree felony, depending on the number of items obtained, possessed, transferred or used in the offense.
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.
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.
In fiscal year 2006, there were 260 admissions to state jail for the offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. The number of these 260 admissions that committed their offense with identifying information from a deceased person, including a stillborn infant or fetus is unknown. The number of items used in the offense is also unknown. 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. 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 or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.