| TO: | Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3985 by Dukes (relating to the prosecution and punishment of the use of benzodiazepines or gamma butyrolactone to facilitate the commission of the offense of aggravated sexual assault and the addition of gamma butyrolactone to Penalty Group 1 of the Texas Controlled Substances Act for purposes of criminal prosecution; amending provisions subject to a criminal penalty.), 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 to expand the definition of aggravated sexual assault to include certain substances. Aggravated sexual assault is a first degree felony and is punishable by confinement in prison for life or five to 99 years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Expanding the circumstances in which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in greater demand on state correctional resources due to additional people potentially placed under felony community supervision or admitted into state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2014, 391 people were arrested, 11 were placed under felony community supervision, and 124 were admitted into state correctional institutions for aggravated sexual assault. Statewide data are not available to indicate the number of times aggravated sexual assault was committed using the substances outlined in the bill's provisions. However, this analysis assumes the bill's provisions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations, programs, or workloads.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | UP, LM
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