The provisions of the bill addressing criminal sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the criminal consequences of engaging in certain conduct with certain instruments designed, made, or adapted for use in striking a person. Under the provisions of the bill, a club would be removed from the offense of unlawfully carrying a weapon, and knuckles would be removed from the offense of prohibited weapons. Under existing statute, these offenses are punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or third degree felony, depending upon the circumstances.

A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 10 years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.

Removing certain weapons from the list of those whose possession is prohibited or from the list whose carrying is unlawful is expected to result in fewer demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due to fewer individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2018, 12,832 individuals were arrested, 1,990 were placed under community supervision, and 28 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the weapons related offenses addressed by the bill's provisions. A statewide repository containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals who would be exempt from prosecution for this offense from all other individuals sentenced to a term of supervision or confinement for this offense is not currently available. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant reduction in the state correctional population or the demand for state correctional resources.