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 the offense of possessing a weapon in certain prohibited places associated with schools or postsecondary educational institutions.  Under the provisions of the bill, a person would commit an offense if the place where the weapon was possessed was owned and under the control of a school or postsecondary educational institution.

Under existing statute, the offense of carrying a weapon in places where it is prohibited is punishable as a third degree felony.  A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 10 years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

Reducing the circumstances in which a criminal penalty can be applied is expected to result in fewer demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due to fewer individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2018, 432 individuals were arrested, 31 were placed under felony community supervision, and 11 were admitted into state correctional institutions for the weapons related offense addressed by the bill's provisions.  A statewide repository containing the level of detail necessary to isolate those individuals who would be exempt from prosecution for this offense from all other individuals sentenced to a term of supervision or confinement for this offense is not currently available. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant reduction in the state correctional population or the demand for state correctional resources.