Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1529 by Miller, Sid (Relating to the offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information.), As Engrossed
The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. Under the provisions of the bill, certain subsections defining identifying information would be separated into multiple subsections. Punishment under current statute and the provisions of the bill would be the same and would be based on the number of items obtained, possessed, or transferred. Fraudulent use or possession of identifying information is punishable at various felony levels.
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.
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.