Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB290 by Jackson, Jim (Relating to the punishment for the offense of employment harmful to children.), As Passed 2nd House
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Penal Code to make the offense of employment harmful to children punishable as a state jail felony if the defendant has been previously convicted one time, and a felony of the third degree if the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times for the offense. The offense is currently punishable as a Class A Misdemeanor. The bill would take effect on September 1, 2011 and would apply to an offense committed on or after the effective date.
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 jail, state jail 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. However, in the case of this bill, 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 resources and services of those agencies.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.