The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. Under current statute the punishment for this offense is a Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony, depending upon the circumstances of the offense.  Under the provisions of the bill, the punishment for this offense would be increased to a second degree felony if the person causes serious bodily injury to another.

A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 20 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, these felony offenses are 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.

Increasing the penalty for any offense 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, fewer than ten people were arrested, placed under community supervision, and admitted into state correctional institutions subject to an increased penalty 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.