Honorable Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor, Senate Honorable Dennis Bonnen, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB20 by Huffman (Relating to the prevention of, reporting regarding, investigation of, prosecution of, criminal and civil penalties for, and other consequences of prostitution, trafficking of persons, and related criminal offenses, to treatment, services, and compensation available to victims of those offenses, and to orders of nondisclosure for certain persons who are victims of certain of those offenses.), Conference Committee Report
The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact to the State due to a lack of data on the amount of fines and fees associated with the creation of new offenses and the cost of the treatment, prevention, and programmatic provisions of the bill.
A state agency is required to implement a provision of this article only if the legislature appropriates money to the agency specifically for the purpose of implementing the applicable provision. If money is not appropriated, the agency may, but is not required to, implement the provisions using other available appropriations for that purpose.
The bill would amend various codes as they relate to prostitution, trafficking, and other related offenses. Under the provisions of the bill, penalties for certain existing prostitution offenses would be modified and a person would commit an offense if the person intends to promote the prostitution of another individual or facilitates another individual to engage in prostitution via an interactive computer service as outlined in the bill. The bill would also add trafficking offenses to the list of offenses for which consecutive sentences can be issued and would permit the Office of the Attorney General to enter into a contract with an institution of higher education for the institution's assistance in the collection and analysis of information related to human trafficking.
Based on information provided by the Comptroller of Public Accounts, there would be an indeterminate fiscal impact to the State from changes made by the bill to fees, fines, and penalties. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Pardons and Paroles, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions for criminal offenses would not result in a significant impact on state correctional agencies.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 452 Department of Licensing and Regulation, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 697 Board of Pardons and Paroles
LBB Staff:
WP, LBO, MW, GDz, SD, CMa, LM, AF, DFR, DA, SPa, JPo, LCO