Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1919 by Raymond (Relating to increasing the punishment for an offense committed against a person because of bias or prejudice on the basis of service as a peace officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel and to the confidentiality of personal information regarding certain persons who provide that service.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to increasing the punishment for an offense committed against a person because of bias or prejudice on the basis of service as a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency service personnel. Under the provisions of the bill, certain offenses against these individuals would be enhanced to the punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if an affirmative finding of bias or prejudice against them is found by a court during the guilt or innocence phase of a trial. The offenses subject to enhancement are currently punished at the misdemeanor and felony level. A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony for 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony for 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.
Enhancing the penalty for any offense is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to longer terms of supervision in the community or longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would result in a significant impact on correctional populations is indeterminate due to a lack of statewide data containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals arrested, placed under community supervision, or incarcerated for certain offenses committed against peace officers, firefighters, or emergency medical service personnel under the circumstances in which these offenses would be enhanced or increased. In fiscal year 2016, 100,141 individuals were arrested, 17,873 were placed under community supervision for a Class A misdemeanor or felony, and 9,860 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the offenses subject to the bill's provisions. The enhancements addressed by the bill could result in a significant impact on state correctional agencies, though the impact cannot be determined.