Honorable Wayne Smith, Chair, House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3467 by Bohac (Relating to the regulation of crafted precious metal dealers; providing criminal penalties; authorizing a fee.), As Introduced
The bill would amend various sections of the Occupations Code as they relate to the regulation of crafted precious metal dealers. The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis relate to the punishment for criminal offenses. Under current law, violations of the Occupations Code by crafted precious metal dealers are punishable as class B misdemeanors. Under the provisions of the bill, first time violations of the Occupations Code by crafted precious metal dealers would be punishable at the misdemeanor level with enhancement to the felony level based on the specific nature of the offense and the number of previous convictions.
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).
Expanding the list of activities for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties and or of the state due to longer terms of probation, or longer terms of confinement in county jail, state jail, or prison. In fiscal year 2012, less than five people were arrested and less than five people were placed on misdemeanor community supervision for violations of the Occupations Code by crafted precious metal dealers. 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.