| TO: | Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB20 by Riddle (Relating to the punishment prescribed for burglary of a vehicle and to grants of community supervision to persons who commit that offense.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Penal Code by making the offense of burglary of a vehicle punishable as a state jail felony. The offense of burglary of a vehicle is currently punishable as a state jail felony if the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times or the vehicle/part is a rail car; otherwise the offense is punishable as a Class A Misdemeanor.
A Class A Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000. A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000 or Class A Misdemeanor punishment (mandatory post conviction community supervision).
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 supervision in the community, 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 of convicted offenders from the counties to the State. In fiscal year 2010, there were 51 offenders placed on felony community supervision and 156 offenders admitted to state jail for the offense of burglary of a vehicle punishable as a state jail felony. The population impact as a result of the provisions of the bill will come from defendants whose offenses were previously punished as a Class A Misdemeanor but would now be punished as a state jail felony. In fiscal year 2010, there were 1,589 offenders placed on misdemeanor community supervision for a Class A Misdemeanor offense of burglary of a vehicle.
Based on fiscal year 2010 arrest trends, direct court commitments, and revocation rates, it is estimated that approximately 8 percent of the individuals convicted of a state jail felony for the offense of burglary of a vehicle would be sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state jail as either a direct court commitment or as a result of felony community supervision revocation; the remainder of the individuals would be placed under felony community supervision annually as a result of the bill. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 13 individuals were convicted of a state jail felony for the offense of burglary of a vehicle. Under the provisions of the bill, it is estimated that approximately 17 percent of the individuals convicted for the offense of burglary of a vehicle previously punished as a Class A Misdemeanor would now be sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state jail, resulting in an increase in demand for state jail capacity. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 1,549 individuals were convicted of a Class A Misdemeanor for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.
Assuming that sentencing patterns and release policies not addressed in this bill remain constant, the probable impact of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage, in terms of daily demand upon the adult corrections agencies, is estimated as follows:
| Fiscal Year | Increase In Felony Community Supervision Population | Increase In Demand For State Jail Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 587 | 97 |
| 2013 | 1,482 | 103 |
| 2014 | 2,111 | 107 |
| 2015 | 2,541 | 111 |
| 2016 | 2,823 | 113 |
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JOB, ADM, GG, LM
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