Honorable John Kuempel, Chair, House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB894 by Raymond (Relating to local option elections to legalize or prohibit the operation of eight-liners; imposing fees; creating criminal penalties.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code to define eight-liners and add them to the list of gambling devices. Under the provisions of the bill the offenses of gambling promotion, keeping a gambling place, and possession of gambling equipment would be punishable under various felony levels with the punishment level based on the specific circumstances of the offense, if they involved eight-liners. Under existing statute, all of these offenses are punished as a Class A misdemeanor.
A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years, a third degree felony from 2 to 10 years, and a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, most felony offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in a county jail for a term not to exceed 1 year, and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.
Expanding the penalty range for any criminal offense is expected to result in greater 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. In fiscal year 2016, 205 individuals were arrested and 35 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of gambling promotion under existing statute. In fiscal year 2016, 107 individuals were arrested and 15 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of keeping a gambling place under existing statute. In fiscal year 2016, 185 individuals were arrested and 27 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of possession of gambling equipment under existing statute. 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.