Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2115 by Moody (Relating to the punishment prescribed for the offense of bail jumping and failure to appear.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code to make failure to appear in accordance with the terms of release from custody, with or without bail, punishable as a felony of the first degree if the offense for which the person is to appear is murder or capital murder. The offense is currently punishable as a felony of the third degree if the offense for which the person is to appear is classified as a felony.
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.
A felony of the first degree is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.
It is assumed the number of persons affected by the provisions of the bill 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.