The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Alcoholic Beverage Code to enhance the penalty for the offense of providing an alcoholic beverage to a minor from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the minor, as a result of the consumption of the alcoholic beverage, causes another person to suffer serious bodily injury or death.

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 county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000.

Increasing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to increase demands on state correctional resources by increasing the number of offenders potentially eligible for placement under felony community supervision and incarceration in state correctional facilities. In fiscal year 2014, 939 people were arrested and 233 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for providing an alcoholic beverage to a minor. A statewide repository containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals arrested or placed under misdemeanor community supervision for providing an alcoholic beverage to a minor under the circumstances in which the offense would be enhanced is not currently available. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations, programs, or workloads.