Honorable Tracy O. King, Chair, House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2817 by González, Mary (Relating to the punishment for the offense of criminal mischief involving the death of a head of cattle or a horse.), 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 the punishment for the offense of criminal mischief involving the death of a head of cattle or a horse. Under the provisions of the bill, criminal mischief involving the death of a head of cattle or a horse 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, 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 state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2016, 56 individuals were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed under community supervision, and fewer than 10 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the offense of criminal mischief under existing statute punishable as a third degree felony. 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.