Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1054 by Zedler (Relating to the offense of retaliation against a presidential elector.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would amend the Election Code as it relates to the offense of retaliation against a presidential elector. Under the provisions of the bill, the offense of retaliation against a voter would also include retaliation against a presidential elector. Under existing statute, retaliation against a voter is a third degree felony.
A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years and, in addition to confinement, 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 a potential increase in the number of individuals sentenced to a term of supervision in the community or a term of confinement within a state correctional institution. In fiscal year 2016, 15 individuals were arrested, less than 10 were placed under felony community supervision, and less than 10 were admitted into state correctional institutions for retaliation against a voter. 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.