The bill would amend the Election Code as it relates to increasing a criminal penalty. Under the provisions of the bill, the misdemeanor offense related to unlawful carrier envelope action would be enhanced to a state jail felony.

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 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 and fewer than ten were placed on misdemeanor community supervision for unlawful carrier envelope action currently punishable by a misdemeanor. 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.