Honorable Nicole Collier, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB239 by Murr (Relating to the punishment for certain controlled substance offenses committed in a drug-free zone; increasing criminal penalties.), As Introduced
The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Health and Safety Code as it relates to drug-free zones. Under the provisions of the bill, certain drug offenses would be enhanced from a second to a first-degree felony if shown at trial the offense was committed within a drug free zone.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years; a second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years. In addition to confinement, most felony offenses are also subject to a $10,000 fine.
Enhancing the penalty for a criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the counties or of the State due to an increase in individuals placed under supervision in the community, sentenced to terms of confinement in state correctional institutions, or placed under parole supervision. The bill may have a negative population impact by increasing the number of people under felony community supervision or incarcerated within state correctional institutions. From fiscal year 2018 to 2020, 8,594 people were arrested, 1,908 were placed on direct community supervision, and 2,809 were admitted into a state correctional institution for offenses which, under the provisions of the bill, could be enhanced from a first to a second-degree felony if shown at trial that they occurred at the locations specified in the bill's provisions. Whether the bill would result in a significant population impact is indeterminate due to the lack of information with the necessary level of detail to distinguish offenses which occurred within the specifically designated area from those which did not.