Honorable Byron Cook, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB200 by Burkett (Relating to certain prohibited abortions and the treatment and disposition of a human fetus, human fetal tissue, and other tissue resulting from pregnancy; creating a civil cause of action; creating offenses.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressed by this analysis would amend the Health and Safety and the Penal Codes as they relate to prohibited abortions and the disposition of certain human fetal remains resulting from pregnancy. Under the provisions of the bill, knowingly performing certain partial-birth abortions would be punishable as a state jail felony. The bill would also make, in certain situations, knowingly offering to purchase, sell, receive, or acquire certain human fetal tissue a state jail felony.
A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000 or Class A Misdemeanor punishment.
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 in 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.