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 theft of service. Under the provisions of the bill, in certain circumstances, both the amount of time an actor has to return property held under a rental agreement before intent to avoid payment is presumed, as well as the amount of time until an actor is presumed to have received notification to pay, would be reduced.

A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years;  a second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years; and a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, most felony level offenses are also subject to 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.  

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 or longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions.  In fiscal year 2018, 421 people were arrested, 99 were placed under felony community supervision, and 19 were admitted into state correctional institutions for theft of service under existing statute. 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.