Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB382 by Martinez, "Mando" (Relating to prohibiting the reckless discharge of a firearm; creating a criminal offense.), As Introduced
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 prohibiting the reckless discharge of a firearm. Under the provisions of the bill, a person who knowingly discharges a firearm and is reckless in regard to lacking a reasonable target at the time of discharge would commit a criminal offense. The offense would be punishable by a Class A misdemeanor or a first degree felony depending upon the specific circumstances of the offense.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Creating a new offense for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in increased demands on the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to a potential increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. However, 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.