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 increasing criminal penalties for the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child. Under the provisions of the bill, if a person makes a firearm accessible to a child and the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury, the offense would be punishable by a state jail felony. Under current statute, this offense is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.

A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000 or Class A misdemeanor punishment. 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 criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to an increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2018, 12 people were arrested and fewer than ten people were placed under misdemeanor community supervision for the class A misdemeanor offense modified in the bill. 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.