LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT
 
84TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 14, 2015

TO:
Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1363 by Johnson (Relating to the prosecution of the offense of prostitution.), As Introduced

The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code to reduce the punishment for prostitution depending on the actor's role in the encounter. Under the provisions of the bill, the punishment for the seller would be reduced from a state jail felony to a class A misdemeanor.

A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for 180 days to two years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year and an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.

Reducing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in decreased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due to shorter terms of supervision in the community or shorter terms of confinement state correctional institutions. The bill would have a positive population impact by decreasing the number of people on felony community supervision or incarcerated within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would result in a significant reduction in correctional populations and demands on state correctional resources is indeterminate due to a lack of statewide data on the individual's role in the encounter, specifically which of these individuals served as the seller in the encounter and would therefore be eligible for the penalty reduction outlined in the bill's provisions. In fiscal year 2014, 733 people were arrested, 164 were placed under felony community supervision, and 448 were admitted to state correctional institutions for prostitution.







Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
UP, KJo, LM