LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT

87TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 6, 2021

TO:
Honorable Nicole Collier, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
 
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB441 by Zwiener (Relating to the criminal and licensing consequences of certain marihuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession offenses; imposing a fee.), As Introduced

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 punishment for certain marihuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession offenses.  Under the provisions of the bill, the punishment for certain drug-related offenses would be reduced to a class C misdemeanor.  

The bill may have a positive population impact by decreasing the number of people under misdemeanor community supervision. Whether the bill would result in a significant reduction in correctional populations and demands on state correctional resources is indeterminate due to a lack of statewide data on the exact amount of marihuana an individual possessed at the time of their offense.  In fiscal years 2018 through 2020, 75,250 individuals were arrested for possession of marihuana under two ounces and 18,024 individuals placed under community supervision for possession of marihuana under two ounces.  Data do not exist that would allow cases in which the individual possessed one ounce or less to be identified from among all other possession of marihuana under two ounces cases.




Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
JMc, DKN, LM, MP