Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB309 by Moody (Relating to the creation of the offense of indecent assault, to judicial protection for victims of that offense, and to certain criminal acts committed in relation to that offense.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill that are the subject of this analysis would amend the Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Government Code as they relate to the creation of the offense of indecent assault. Under the provisions of the bill, engaging in certain behaviors without the other person's consent and with certain intent would be punishable by a Class A misdemeanor. The bill would also add indecent assault to the list of offenses for which a protective order could be sought and to the list of offenses for which a violation of a court order could occur. A violation of certain court orders as addressed by the provisions of the bill is punishable by Class A misdemeanor or a third degree felony depending upon the specific circumstances of the offense.
A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of not more than $4,000, confinement in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or both.
Expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to longer terms of supervision in the community or longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on the demand for state correctional resources.