The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend various codes as they relate to increasing penalties for existing prostitution offenses and violations of the Occupations Code by an owner or operator of a massage establishment as well as creating criminal offenses for online promotion of prostitution and aggravated online promotion of prostitution. The punishment for these offenses would range from a misdemeanor to a felony with the punishment level based on the specific circumstances of the offense. A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony by confinement in prison for 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony by confinement in prison for 2 to 10 years; and a state jail felony 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 felonies may be subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. 

Creating a criminal offense, increasing the penalty for, or expanding the circumstances in which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to an increase in individuals placed under supervision in the community, sentenced to terms of confinement in state correctional institutions, or placed under parole supervision. Under the provisions of the bill, individuals who pay to engage in sexual conduct (buyer) and have previously been convicted one time would now commit a state jail felony. In fiscal year 2018, 23 people were arrested, fewer than ten placed on community supervision, and fewer than ten were incarcerated for this offense with one or two previous convictions. Under provisions of this bill, a judge would be required to place an individual who offers or agrees to receive a fee to engage in sexual conduct and is convicted of a first state jail felony (seller) on community supervision. At the end of fiscal year 2018, 67 people were incarcerated for this offense with three previous convictions with no prior state jail felony prostitution convictions. The bill would also increase the penalties offenses related to massage therapy occupations to felonies and allow for further enhancement if these offenses were related to organized crime in some circumstances. In fiscal year 2018, 55 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed on community supervision, and fewer than ten were incarcerated for offenses related to massage therapy occupations modified in this bill. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources.