The bill would amend the various codes as they relate to the amounts of the administrative, civil, and criminal penalties for violating certain statutes under the jurisdiction of, rules or orders adopted by, or licenses, permits, or certificates issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas. Under the provisions of the bill, the maximum term of imprisonment within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for injuring or destroying pipeline facilities would be 5 years. At present the maximum term of in imprisonment within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for injuring or destroying pipeline facilities is 15 years.

 
Reducing the maximum term of imprisonment for a criminal offense is expected to result in decreased demands upon the correctional resources of counties and or of the state due to shorter terms of probation, or shorter terms of confinement in county jail, state jail, or prison.  However, in the case of this bill, 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.