LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT
 
86TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
Revision 1
 
May 17, 2019

TO:
Honorable Nicole Collier, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
 
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director
Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB20 by Huffman (Relating to the prevention of, prosecution of, penalties for, and other consequences of prostitution, trafficking of persons, and related criminal offenses and to orders of nondisclosure for persons who committed certain of those offenses; regulating occupations to prevent and respond to those criminal offenses, including requiring a student occupational permit for those purposes; authorizing fees; increasing criminal penalties; creating criminal offenses.), As Engrossed

The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the various codes as they relate to increasing penalties for existing prostitution offenses and creating criminal offenses for online promotion of prostitution. The punishment for these prostitution offenses would range from a misdemeanor to a felony.

 
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 2 to 20 years; a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for 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 felonies may be subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. 
 

Creating a criminal offense or expanding the circumstances in which a criminal penalty is applied is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to an increase in individuals placed under supervision in the community, sentenced to terms of confinement in state correctional institutions, or placed under parole supervision. Under the provisions of the bill, individuals who pay to engage in sexual conduct (buyer) and have previously been convicted one time would now commit a state jail felony. In fiscal year 2018, 23 people were arrested, fewer than ten placed on community supervision, and fewer than ten were incarcerated for this offense with one or two previous convictions. Under provisions of this bill, a judge would be required to place an individual who offers or agrees to receive a fee to engage in sexual conduct and is convicted of a first state jail felony (seller) on community supervision. At the end of fiscal year 2018, 67 people were incarcerated for this offense with three previous convictions with no prior state jail felony prostitution convictions. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources.



Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
WP, LM, SPa