Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB939 by Lucio (Relating to creating an offense for engaging in certain conduct relating to cockfighting and to the criminal and civil consequences of committing that offense.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Penal Code by creating the offense of cockfighting. The offense would be punishable as a state jail felony, a Class A misdemeanor, or a Class C misdemeanor depending on provisions specified by the bill. The bill would also amend the Code of Criminal Procedure by specifying the destruction or forfeiture of cockfighting equipment following the final conviction of a person for the offense of cockfighting. The bill would also add cockfighting to the list of offenses considered engaging in organized criminal activity. Engaging in organized criminal activity is punishable at various felony levels and is based on the level of the offense the person committed or conspired to commit.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 2011 and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.
It is estimated that implementation of the bill would not have a significant impact on the costs of state or local government.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.