TO:	Honorable Trent Ashby, Chair, House Committee on Constitutional Rights & Remedies, Select

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB1 by Hughes (relating to election integrity and security, including by preventing fraud in the conduct of elections in this state; increasing criminal penalties; creating criminal offenses.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted

The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend various codes as they relate to election integrity and security. Under the provisions of the bill existing offenses would be modified and several newly created election fraud-related criminal offenses would be punishable at the felony and misdemeanor levels with the level and degree of punishment based on the specific circumstances of the offense.

Creating a new offense or modifying the penalty for an existing offense 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. From fiscal year 2018 through 2020 there were a total of 45 arrests for election-related offenses; there were fewer than ten individuals in each fiscal year who were placed onto community supervision; and there were fewer than ten individuals in each fiscal year who were admitted into a state correctional institution for election-related offenses. This analysis assumes implementing the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT 87TH LEGISLATURE 2nd CALLED SESSION 2021


August 24, 2021