Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3598 by Huberty (Relating to the criminal registration procedure for a convicted arsonist.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure as it relates to the criminal registration procedure for a convicted arsonist. The provisions of the bill that create new punishment or enhance existing punishment for criminal offenses are the subject of this analysis. Under the provisions of the bill, failure to comply with registration requirements would be punishable as a state jail felony, a third degree felony, or a second degree felony and would be contingent upon the circumstances surrounding the person’s specific registration requirement. The bill would also allow for enhancement for an offense or an attempt to commit an offense upon subsequent conviction. Under the provisions of the bill, failure to comply with civil commitment requirements would be a second degree felony.
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.
Creating a 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. Although the number of times someone would fail to comply with the registration or civil commitment requirements for arson are unknown, it is assumed the number of offenders convicted under these statutes 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.