Honorable Byron Cook, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2858 by Burns (Relating to human trafficking signs at abortion facilities and offenses associated with human trafficking and coerced abortion; increasing criminal penalties.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. Under the provisions of the bill, an individual who commits human trafficking which results in the death of the unborn child of the trafficked person would be subject to penalty for criminal homicide. The penalty for criminal homicide ranges from a state jail felony to a capital felony. In addition, the bill would enhance the penalty for assault to a second degree felony if an individual intentionally or knowingly used force or the threat of force to compel a woman to receive an abortion. A capital felony is punishable by death or life imprisonment. A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony from 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony from 2 to 10 years; and a state jail felony 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 punishment for any criminal offense 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 within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would result in a significant population impact is indeterminate due to lack of statewide data related to specific circumstances of assaults and human trafficking that result in the death of an unborn child or abortion as specified by the bill. Data collected at the statewide level do not contain the detail necessary to isolate those individuals arrested, placed under felony community supervision, or incarcerated within correctional institutions for committing certain offenses under the circumstances in which the offenses would be enhanced. In fiscal year 2016, 52,566 individuals were arrested and 8,591 were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of assault. In fiscal year 2016, 71 individuals were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed under felony community supervision, and 16 were admitted into state correctional institutions for human trafficking.