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 misdemeanor and felony offenses.), As Introduced |
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the various codes as they relate to the punishment for certain misdemeanor and felony offenses. Under the provisions of the bill the punishment for certain drug-related offenses 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, prostitution and forgery 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 fiscal 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 exact amount of pecuniary loss for those convicted of certain offenses outlined in the provisions of the bill. In fiscal year 2014, 11,765 people subject to the bill's provisions were admitted to state correctional facilities and 9,451 were placed on 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:
Fiscal Year | Decrease In Demand For TDCJ Correctional Institution Capacity | Decrease In Felony Community Supervision | Decrease In Demand For Parole Supervision |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | 6,067 | 4,824 | 0 |
2017 | 11,819 | 9,383 | 0 |
2018 | 11,856 | 9,358 | 193 |
2019 | 11,886 | 9,364 | 194 |
2020 | 11,909 | 9,390 | 194 |
Source Agencies: |
LBB Staff: | UP, KJo, LM
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