The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Agriculture Code to create a criminal offense for committing certain acts that would cause damage to an animal or crop facility.  This offense would be punished as a Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony with the punishment level based on the pecuniary value of the loss to the animal or crop facility.

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 and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.

Creating a new criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due an increase in individuals placed on community supervision or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. 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.