Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB124 by Jackson, Jim (Relating to the punishment for the offense of employment harmful to children.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment for the offense of employment harmful to children from a Class A misdemeanor to a felony of the third degree if the defendant has previously been convicted of the same offense.
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 felony of the third degree 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.
According to fiscal year 2008 community supervision placement data provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, no one was placed on community supervision for the offense of employment harmful to children. While according to arrest data for fiscal year 2007 provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, 2 persons were arrested for the offense of employment harmful to children. 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.