Honorable Gary Elkins, Chair, House Committee on Government Transparency & Operation
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB9 by Capriglione (Relating to cybercrime; creating criminal offenses.), 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 create the offenses of electronic access interference, electronic data tampering, and unlawful decryption.
Under the provisions of the bill, an individual who intentionally interrupts or suspends access to a computer system or network without the effective consent of the owner could be prosecuted for electronic access interference, a third degree felony. The bill would also make altering data as it transmits between two computers in a computer network or system without the effective consent of the owner or introducing malware or ransomware onto a computer or a computer network or system without the effective consent of the owner punishable as criminal offense. Decrypting encrypted private information without the effective consent of the owner as outlined in the bill's provisions would also be a criminal offense. The punishments for electronic data tampering and unlawful decryption would range from a misdemeanor to a felony with the punishment based on intent, the type of system or network involved, and the amount of pecuniary loss.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony for a term from 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony for a term from 2 to 10 years; and a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A Misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, all felony level offenses are also subject to an optional fee not to exceed $10,000.
Creating an offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to a potential increase in the number of individuals sentenced to a term of supervision in the community or a term of incarceration within state correctional institutions. However, this analysis assumes implementing the provisions of the bill would not result in a significant impact on the demand for state correctional resources.