The bill would amend the Occupations and Penal Codes as they relate to the information reported to the comptroller by a coin-operated machine license holder, the penalty for failure to report that information and the penalty for gambling promotion. The provisions of the bill that enhance existing punishment for criminal offenses are the subject of this analysis. Under the provisions of the bill, punishment for gambling promotion would be enhanced from a class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony and any gambling offenses punishable as a felony would be added to the list of engaging in organized criminal activity offenses.  The bill would also enhance the punishment for failure to report or provide coin-operated gambling machine information to the comptroller of public accounts from a class B misdemeanor to a class A misdemeanor.

A Class B Misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed 180 days and/or a fine not to exceed $2,000. 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 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).

Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources. When an offense is changed from a misdemeanor to a felony, there is a transfer of the burden of confinement of convicted offenders from the counties to the State. In fiscal year 2012, 218 people were arrested and 53 people were placed on misdemeanor community supervision for gambling promotion. Based on arrest history data and direct court sentencing trends, approximately 6 people would be sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state jail and approximately 25 people would be placed under felony community supervision annually as a result of the provisions of the bill.  Although the number of times a felony gambling offense would also be considered under the engaging in organized criminal activity offense 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.