Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB682 by Wu (Relating to the statute of limitations for aggravated assault.), As Engrossed
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to add aggravated assault to the list of offenses with a statute of limitation of three years. The bill would also make the statute of limitations for aggravated offenses the same as the primary crime if a limitation period has not otherwise been specifically provided. Aggravated assault is punishable as a first or second degree felony, depending on the circumstances of the offense.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or 5 to 99 years and a second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for 2 to 20 years. In addition to confinement, most felony offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Increasing the statute of limitations is expected to result in greater demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to additional individuals potentially placed under felony community supervision or admitted into state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2016, 17,920 individuals were arrested, 881 were placed under felony community supervision, and 3,489 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the offense of aggravated assault under the existing statute of limitations. 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.