The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual. Under the provisions of the bill the definition of disabled individual would be expanded, the requirement that a disabled individual be older than 14 for purposes of the prosecution of the offense would be removed, and an additional defense to prosecution, that the person did not know and could not reasonably have known the individual was disabled, would be provided. Under current law, injury to child, elderly individual, or disabled individual is punishable at various felony levels with the punishment based on the circumstances of the offense.

A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years, a second degree felony by confinement in prison for two to 20 years, a third degree felony by confinement in prison for two to ten years, and a state jail felony by confinement in a state jail for 180 days to two years. In addition to confinement certain felony level offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

Expanding the definition of an offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of the state due to more persons potentially placed under felony community supervision or admitted into state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2014, 3,967 people were arrested, 998 were placed under felony community supervision, and 920 were admitted into correctional institutions for injury to child, elderly, or disabled individual under existing statute. This analysis assumes implementing the provisions of the bill would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations, programs, or workloads.