The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the punishment for indecent exposure. Under the provisions of the bill, the punishment for indecent exposure would be enhanced form a Class B Misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the person has been previously convicted two or more times of indecent exposure. A previous conviction under the provisions of the bill would include an adjudication of guilt or a deferred adjudication regardless of whether the sentence was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the defendant was subsequently discharged from community supervision.

A Class B Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed 180 days and/or a fine not to exceed $2,000. 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 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 of convicted offenders from the counties to the State. In fiscal year 2010, 344 people were arrested and 75 people were placed on misdemeanor community supervision for indecent exposure. Based on arrest history data, direct court sentencing trends, and revocation rates, approximately 7 people would be sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state jail or prison and approximately 33 people would be placed under felony community supervision annually for indecent exposure as a result of the bill. For this analysis, it is assumed the number of offenders not released 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.