Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4134 by Fallon (Relating to the creation of the offense of engaging in organized election fraud activity.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Election Code as it relates to the offense of engaging in organized election fraud activity. Under the provisions of the bill, engaging in election fraud activity would be punishable one category higher than the most serious offense listed in the subsection. Offenses within Titles 1 through 7 of the Election Code are punished at the misdemeanor and felony level with punishment based on the specific circumstances of the offense.
A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 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 an increase in the demand for 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. However, 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.