LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT
 
86TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 19, 2019

TO:
Honorable John Cyrier, Chair, House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism
 
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director
Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB2321 by Morrison (Relating to the regulation of oyster harvesting; increasing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced

The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  Under the provisions of the bill, the list of behaviors for the prosecution of offenses related to the harvesting of oysters would be expanded and certain punishments would be increased.  Under current law, these offenses are punishable as a Class C or Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor or a Parks and Wildlife Code felony, depending upon the circumstances of the offense.  Under the provisions of the bill, certain offenses related to the harvesting of oysters would be punishable as a Class B or Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor or a Parks and Wildlife Code felony, depending upon the circumstances of the offense.

A Parks and Wildlife Code felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 10 years and an optional fine of $2,000 to $10,000. A Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and an optional fine of $500 to $4,000. A Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed 180 days and an optional fine of $200 to $2,000. A Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of $25 to $500.

Increasing the penalty or expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty can be applied is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of the counties or of the state due to longer terms of supervision in the community and longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions.  In fiscal year 2018, 11 people were arrested and fewer than ten people were placed under community supervision and admitted to state correctional institutions for offenses related to the harvesting of oysters. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or the demand for state correctional resources.



Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
WP, LM, JPo