Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2003 by McCall (Relating to the creation of the offense of online harassment.), As Introduced
This bill would amend the Penal Code creating the offense of Online Harassment. The offense would be punishable as a Class A Misdemeanor and provide for punishment enhancement to that of a third degree felony if the actor commits the offense with the intent to harm or defraud another.
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.
For this analysis it is assumed 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.