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 Penal Code to include provisions considering the alleged victim’s dating relationship for the offense of stalking. The bill would also amend the Penal Code by enhancing the punishment prescribed for the offense of stalking from a felony of the third degree to a felony of the second degree contingent upon not just previous conviction of an offense under this section, but an offense containing elements that are substantially similar under certain other laws.

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.

Expanding the list of behaviors for which a penalty is applied for any criminal offense or 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. 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. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 82 individuals were arrested for an offense of stalking not enhanced; and of those arrested in fiscal year 2010, less than 10 were convicted of a felony offense and sentenced to a term of incarceration in prison or placed on felony community supervision. 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.