The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the prosecution of the offense of sexual assault. Under the provisions of the bill, a sexual assault includes engaging in conduct without the consent of the other person if the actor knows the other person is intoxicated and incapable of appraising the nature of the act; engaging in conduct when the actor knows the other person has withdrawn consent and the actor persists in the act; or engaging in conduct when the actor is a caregiver and causes the other person to participate by exploiting the other person's dependency on the actor. Sexual assault as described in the bill is currently punishable as a second degree felony.
A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years and, in addition to confinement, may be subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
Expanding the circumstances for a criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the counties and of the State due to an increase in individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. Whether the bill would have a significant population impact is indeterminate due to the lack of data that would allow those cases in which the actor knew the victim was intoxicated, knew consent had been withdrawn, or was the caregiver hired to assist the individual to be isolated from all other cases. From fiscal years 2018 through 2020, an average of 1,152 people were arrested, 84 people were placed onto felony direct community supervision, and 146 people were incarcerated for the sexual assault offense addressed by the bill under current statute. The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined at this time.