The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend various codes as they relate to the unlawful transfer of certain weapons. Under the provisions of the bill, knowingly making a false or misleading statement for purposes of illegally acquiring a firearm would be punishable as a state jail felony. Under current statute, unlawful weapons transfer is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or as a state jail felony depending on the circumstances of the offense.
A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000 or Class A misdemeanor punishment. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $4,000.
Expanding the set of behaviors for which a criminal penalty is applied 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 to 2020, 10 people were arrested, fewer than 10 were placed on direct community supervision, and fewer than 10 were admitted to a state correctional institution for felony unlawful weapons transfer under existing statute. 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.