Honorable Byron Cook, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2555 by Brown (Relating to the regulation of abortion procedures; providing penalties.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Family Code and the Occupations Code as it relates to the regulation of abortion procedures. The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis are the provisions that would deal with felony sanctions. The bill would amend the Family Code to create a criminal offense, punishable as a state jail felony, for making a fraudulent statement in a certified consent statement required to perform or induce an abortion on certain pregnant unemancipated minors. The bill would amend the Occupations Code to remove the exception for criminal penalties consideration, which applies to practicing medicine in violation of prohibited acts regarding abortion. A criminal offense for practicing medicine in violation is currently punishable as a felony of the third degree.
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.
Expanding the list of behaviors for which a penalty is applied 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 affected by the proposed statute. In fiscal year 2010, less than 5 individuals were arrested, or placed on community supervision for a criminal offense involving a violation of reporting requirements relating to the abortions performed at an abortion facility. In fiscal year 2010, less than 5 individuals were arrested, or admitted to prison for a criminal offense for practicing medicine in violation. Although the number of persons who would be prosecuted under the proposed statute is unknown, 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.