Honorable Kelly Hancock, Chair, Senate Committee on Business & Commerce
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1994 by Zaffirini (Relating to the financing of residential real estate purchases by means of a wrap mortgage loan; creating an offense.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Finance Code as it relates to the offense of deceptive trade practices. Under the provisions of the bill, certain behavior outlined in the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act as it relates to a wrap mortgage loan would constitute an offense. The punishment for this behavior would range from a misdemeanor to a felony with punishment based on the specific circumstances of the offense.
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, and, in addition to confinement, 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 increased 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, fewer than 10 individuals were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed under felony community supervision, and fewer than 10 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the offense of pyramid promotional scheme, punishable as a felony under the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act. 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.