The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the offense of capital murder.  The provisions of the bill would add emergency medical services personnel to the list of public servants whose murder, while on duty, qualifies the offense for prosecution as a capital felony rather than as a first degree felony.

A capital felony is punishable by death, life in prison, or life without parole.  Life in prison or life in prison without parole are the only punishment options available for individuals who commit a capital felony when younger than 18.  A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

Expanding the criteria for which a capital felony can be applied is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of the State due to increased sentences to a term of incarceration within state correctional institutions.  The bill may have a negative population impact by increasing the number of people incarcerated within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would result in a significant impact on state correctional populations is indeterminate due to a lack of statewide data containing the level of detail necessary to identify victim occupation.  In fiscal year 2018, 821 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed under felony community supervision, and 522 were admitted into state correctional institutions for offenses which, under the provisions of the bill, could be prosecuted as capital murder if the victim was an emergency medical services provider.  Under current law and policy, and under the proposed bill, the average time served in prison by individuals likely to be affected by the provisions of this bill is greater than five years. Assuming sentencing trends and release policies not addressed by the bill's provisions remain constant, the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions for criminal offenses are not anticipated to result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or the demand for state correctional resources during the first five years following passage of this bill.