Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2440 by Geren (Relating to the punishment for the offense of theft.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the offense of theft. Under the provisions of the bill, certain theft punishable as a state jail felony would be modified to reflect that the value of the property stolen is $100 or more but less than $2,500 and the individual has been previously convicted multiple times for theft.
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.
Increasing the bottom of the range for the value of property stolen for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in an decrease in the demand for the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to a potential decrease 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, 7,483 individuals were arrested, 1,135 were placed under felony community supervision, and 2,789 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the offense of theft punishable as a state jail felony 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.