The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Election Code as it relates to creating a criminal offense.  Under the provisions of the bill, a registrar who fails to correct a violation as outlined in the bill would commit 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.

Creating a new offense for which a criminal penalty is applied 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, fewer than ten people were arrested, placed on community supervision, or admitted into state correctional institutions for a similar offense. 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.