The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  Under the provisions of the bill, the list of behaviors for the prosecution of certain trafficking and prostitution offenses would be expanded and certain punishments would be increased one level of severity.  Under existing statute, these offenses are punishable as a state jail felony, a third degree felony, a second degree felony, and a first degree felony, depending upon the circumstances of the offense. The bill would also add Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution to the list of offenses for which registration is required.
 
A first degree felony is punishable is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term of 5 to 99 years, a second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 20 years, a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 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 felony offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
 
Increasing the penalty and expanding the list of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied are expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of the counties or of the state due an increase in the number of people placed under supervision in the community or admitted into state correctional institutions.  In fiscal year 2018, 167 people were arrested, 16 people were placed under felony community supervision, and 28 people were admitted into state correctional institutions for the trafficking and prostitution offenses subject to the bill's provisions.  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.