Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB188 by Uresti (Relating to civil or criminal liability for transporting in, confining in, or removing from a motor vehicle certain animals.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Civil Practice and Remedies Code and Penal Codes as they relate to civil or criminal liability for transporting in, confining in, or removing from a motor vehicle certain animals. Under the provisions of the bill, failure to provide proper protection for a domesticated animal contained in a motor vehicle would be added to the definition of animal cruelty in certain circumstances. The bill would also limit the criminal liability of individuals who make a good faith effort to rescue domesticated animals improperly contained in a motor vehicle if certain conditions are met. The punishment for certain acts of animal cruelty would range from a state jail to a third degree felony with the punishment level based on the specific circumstances of the offense.
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.
Expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in greater demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to a potential increase 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, 152 individuals were arrested, 42 were placed under felony community supervision, and 22 were admitted into state correctional institutions for offenses related to certain acts of animal cruelty under existing statute punishable as a felony offense. 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.