Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1176 by Patrick, Dan (Relating to the punishment prescribed for the offense of evading arrest or detention. ), Committee Report 2nd House, As Amended
The bill would amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment for the offense of evading arrest or detention currently punishable as a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. The bill would also make the offense of evading arrest or detention punishable as a state jail felony if the actor has been previously convicted for the offense.
A Class B Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in a county jail for any term of not more than 180 days, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $2,000.
A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year, a fine not to exceed $4,000, or both fine and imprisonment.
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.
Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to longer terms of probation, or, longer terms of confinement in county jails or prison. When an offense is changed from a misdemeanor to a felony, there is a transfer of the burden of confinement and/or supervision of convicted offenders from the counties to the State. The probable impact of implementing the provision of this bill cannot be determined due to the unavailability of reliable data or information related to prior convictions for the offense of evading arrest or detention.