The bill would amend the Alcoholic Beverage Code to make the sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor punishable as a state jail felony if the person has a prior conviction for the offense or for sale of alcoholic beverages to certain persons.  The offense is currently punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.
 
A Class A Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in a county jail for any term of not more than one year, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $4,000.
 
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.
 
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.  In fiscal year 2008, approximately 200 offenders were placed on misdemeanor community supervision for the sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor.  A check of Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, Department of Public Safety records, Office of Court Administration records, and Jail Standards Commission records did not reveal any information that would help in an accurate assumption regarding prior convictions for the offense of sale of alcoholic beverage to minors; however, it is assumed that the number of persons 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.