Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB354 by Wentworth (Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of and certain other locations associated with institutions of higher education. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis are the provisions dealing with felony sanctions for criminal offenses. The bill would amend the Penal Code by allowing the carrying of concealed handguns by license holders on the campuses of institutions of higher education, other than on the premises of a hospital, for the offense of places where weapons are prohibited. The bill would also allow license holders to carry a handgun on the premises where a collegiate sporting event is taking place under certain conditions, for the offense of unlawful carrying of handgun by license holder. At present, the offense of places where weapons are prohibited is punishable as a felony of the third degree; the offense of unlawful carrying of handgun by license holder is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony of the third degree.
A Class A Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000. 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.
The impact of the bill on correctional populations would depend on how many persons would be prosecuted under the proposed statute compared to existing statute. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 455 individuals were arrested, and of those arrested less than 5 were admitted to prison, less than 20 were placed under felony community supervision, and less than 20 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of places were weapons are prohibited. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 71 individuals were arrested, and of those arrested less than 5 were admitted to prison, less than 5 were placed under felony community supervision, and less than 20 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of unlawful carrying of handgun by license holder. For this analysis, it is assumed the bill 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.