TO:	Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3326 by Thompson, Senfronia (relating to decreasing the punishment for certain criminal offenses.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend various codes as they relate to the punishment for certain misdemeanor and felony offenses. Under the provisions of the bill the punishment for certain burglary, theft, fraud, and drug-related offenses in certain circumstances would be reduced from a state jail felony to a class A misdemeanor. The bill would also alter the amounts of pecuniary loss that constitute an offense for certain misdemeanor and felony offenses and reduce all punishment levels for fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. Under the provisions of the bill certain forgery offenses would no longer be punishable as a state jail felony.

Increasing the amount of pecuniary loss aligned with certain penalty ranges is expected to result in decreased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due to shorter terms of probation or shorter terms of confinement in state correctional institutions. The bill may have a positive population impact by decreasing the number of people under 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 exact amount of pecuniary loss for those convicted of certain offenses outlined in the provisions of the bill.

In fiscal year 2014, 9,340 people subject to the bill's provisions were admitted into state correctional facilities and 11,300 were placed under felony community supervision. Assuming sentencing patterns and release policies not addressed in this bill remain constant, the probable impact of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage, in terms of daily demand on the adult corrections agencies, is estimated as follows: