Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB913 by Alvarado (Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of the possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of certain prohibited explosive weapons.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill that would amend the Penal Code as they relate to the prosecution of certain prohibited weapons are the subject of this analysis. Under the provisions of the bill, knowingly possessing, manufacturing, transporting, repairing, or selling certain prohibited weapons would be punishable as a third degree felony.
A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
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. In fiscal year 2016, 494 individuals were arrested, 64 were placed on felony community supervision, and 57 were admitted to state correctional institutions for the offense of prohibited weapons. A statewide repository containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals who possessed explosive weapons from all other individuals arrested and convicted under the statute referenced by the bill is not currently available. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on the demand of state correctional resources.