TO:	Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB775 by Miklos (Relating to the penalty for theft of a central air-conditioning unit.), As Introduced

The bill would amend the Penal Code to make theft of a central air-conditioning unit punishable as a felony of the third degree.  Theft is currently punishable at all offense levels depending upon the type and value of property stolen.

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.
 

Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in increased demands upon correctional resources.  The impact of the bill on correctional populations would depend on how many persons would be prosecuted under the provision of the bill, and the extent to which punishment would be enhanced under the proposed statute compared to existing statute.  For this analysis 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 the resources and services of those agencies.