The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  The bill would amend the Penal Code to exempt certain officials in certain circumstances from the offenses of carrying a weapon in places where prohibited, unlawfully carrying a weapon, and unlawful carrying of a handgun by a license holder. Under existing statute, these offenses are punishable as a Class C misdemeanor, a Class A misdemeanor, or a 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 in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $4,000, and  a Class C misdemeanor is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.

Exempting certain individuals from prosecution for certain weapons offenses is expected to result in decreased 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, 11,810 individuals were arrested, 1,295 were placed under felony community supervision, and 29 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the weapons offenses addressed by the bill.  A statewide repository containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals who would be exempt from prosecution for these offenses from all other individuals sentenced to a term of supervision or confinement for these offenses is not currently available. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant reduction in the demand for state correctional resources.