Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2880 by Dutton (Relating to the criminal punishment for the threatened exhibition or use of a firearm in or on school property or on a school bus.), As Engrossed
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Education Code as it relates to the exhibition of firearms on or in school property or a school bus. Under the provisions of the bill, separate penalties would be created for individuals who threaten to exhibit or use a firearm in or on school property or a school bus. Individuals who made a threat but were not in possession or did not have immediate access to the firearm would now commit a Class A misdemeanor. Under existing statute, this behavior is punishable as a third degree felony. Individuals who made a threat and did possess or have immediate access to the firearm would be subject to the original penalty of 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, most felony offenses are also subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000.
Decreasing the penalty for certain conduct related to a criminal offense is expected to result in reduced demands on 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, 78 individuals were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed under felony community supervision, and fewer than 10 were admitted into state correctional institutions for exhibiting a firearm on campus or a school bus punishable as a third degree felony. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant reduction on the demand for state correctional resources.