Honorable Drew Darby, Chair, House Committee on Energy Resources
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1871 by Zaffirini (Relating to the creation of the offense of theft of petroleum products.), As Engrossed
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code to create the offense of theft of petroleum product. Under the provisions of the bill, an individual who unlawfully appropriates a petroleum product with the necessary intent would be subject to the penalty for theft of a petroleum product. The punishment would range from a state jail felony to a first degree felony with the punishment level increasing in severity based on the total pecuniary value of the petroleum product appropriated.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or for a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony for a term from 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony for a term from 2 to 10 years; and a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, these felony offense are also subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Creating an offense is expected to result in increased demands on the correctional resources of 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 incarceration 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.