Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB710 by Nelson (Relating to the punishment for the offense of employment harmful to children.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Penal Code to increase the punishment for the offense of employment harmful to children from a Class A misdemeanor to a felony of the second degree.The bill would take effect on September 1, 2009 and would apply to an offense committed on or after the effective date.
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 and/or supervision of convicted offenders from the counties to the State.It is assumed the number of persons convicted under this statute would not result in a significant impact on programs and workload of state corrections agencies or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.