Honorable Tommy Merritt, Chair, House Committee on Public Safety
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4674 by Phillips (Relating to the regulation of driver's licenses and personal identification certificates by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, including enforcement measures against fictitious or fraudulently obtained licenses or certificates; providing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced
The provision of the bill that is the subject of this analysis would amend the Transportation Code by creating an offense for conspiring to manufacture a counterfeit license or certificate. The offense would be punishable as a state jail felony except the offense would be punishable as a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed by a public servant.
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.
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 that the number of offenders convicted under the provision of the bill 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. It is expected individuals who would be affected under the provision of the bill are currently being sentenced for other, possibly lesser felony, offenses.