Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3884 by Dutton (relating to the carrying of knives.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
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 carrying of knives. Under the provisions of the bill, the unlawful carrying of a location-restricted knife by a person younger than 18 would be punishable as a class A misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, depending on the circumstances. The bill would also reduce the penalty, in certain circumstances, for the carrying of a location-restricted knife in certain places where weapons are prohibited from a third-degree felony to a class C misdemeanor. Unlawful carrying of a weapon is punishable as a class A misdemeanor or a third degree felony with the punishment based on the specific circumstances of the offense. Carrying a weapon in places where weapons are prohibited is punishable as a third-degree felony.
Restricting the circumstances that constitute a criminal offense or reducing the penalty for any criminal offense is expected to result in decreased demands upon the correctional resources of the state due to fewer people potentially placed under felony community supervision or admitted into state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2014, 763 people were arrested, 67 were placed under felony community supervision and 47 were admitted into correctional institutions for weapons-related offenses. Statewide data are not available to indicate which weapons-related offenses involved a location-restricted knife or occurred on certain prohibited premises and would therefore be subject to the bill's provisions. This analysis assumes this provision of the bill would not significantly impact state correctional populations, programs, or workloads.