The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Health and Safety Code and Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the offense of possession of marihuana. These provisions would take effect on September 1, 2019 and apply only to offenses committed on or after the effective date of the Act. Under the provisions of the bill, punishment for the possession of marihuana would be decreased and would range from a class C misdemeanor to a second degree felony.

Decreasing the penalty for any offense is expected to result in fewer demands upon the correctional resources of the counties or of the state due to fewer admissions to state correctional institutions and an increase in misdemeanor placements under community supervision. In fiscal year 2018, there were 1,096 placements on felony community supervision and 732 admissions to state incarceration facilities for persons whose offense would be punished to a lesser degree under the provisions of the bill. Some individuals would go from incarceration to felony supervision, others would go from felony supervision to misdemeanor supervision, while others would have their lengths of stay on supervision or in incarceration reduced. Estimated populations are based on the adult incarceration projections included in the January 2019 Adult and Juvenile Correctional Population Projections report, include a small time lag, and assume sentencing patterns and policies not addressed in the bill remain constant. The probable impact on adult correctional populations of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage is estimated as follows: