Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB385 by Menendez (Relating to the punishment for theft and certain fraud offenses committed against a disabled individual.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the punishment for theft and certain fraud offenses committed against a disabled individual. The bill would allow disabled individuals affected by theft, forgery, credit card or debit card abuse, misapplication of fiduciary property or property of financial institution, securing execution of document by deception, or fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, to be considered for purposes of punishment enhancement. The theft and fraud offenses identified in the bill are currently punishable at various levels, misdemeanor and felony, contingent upon the value, amount, or type of property involved.
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). A felony of the third degree is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A felony of the second degree is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A felony of the first degree is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional 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 jail, state jail or prison. The impact of the bill on correctional populations would depend on how many persons would be prosecuted under the provisions of the bill, and the extent to which punishment would be enhanced under the proposed statute compared to existing statute. For this analysis, it is assumed 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. It is expected that individuals who would be affected by the provisions of the bill are currently being sentenced for other, possible lesser felony, offenses.