Honorable Nicole Collier, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB816 by Krause (Relating to the creation of a commission to review certain penal laws of this state and to make certain recommendations regarding those laws, to criminal offenses previously compiled in statutes outside the Penal Code, to repealing certain of those offenses, and to conforming punishments for certain of those offenses to the penalty structure provided in the Penal Code; increasing the punishment for the criminal offenses of sedition, sabotage, and capital sabotage; imposing a civil penalty.), 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 criminal offenses and penalties. The bill would transfer certain provisions to the Penal Code from other sections of statute, repeal certain offenses outside of the Penal Code and modify certain offenses including changes to punishments and associated behaviors. The bill would also amend the Penal Code to expand the conduct constituting capital murder to include intentionally committing a murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit sabotage.
A capital felony is punishable by death or life imprisonment. A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for 2 to 20 years. A third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for 2 to 10 years. A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or Class A misdemeanor punishment. In addition to confinement, most felony level offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. 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.
Increasing the penalty for any offense is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to longer terms of supervision in the community or longer terms of confinement within state correctional institutions. Decreasing the penalty for any offense is expected to result in fewer demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to shorter terms of supervision or confinement. From fiscal year 2018 to 2020, 698 individuals were arrested, 25 were placed under community supervision, and 178 were admitted into state correctional institutions for any of the offenses for which changes are proposed. This analysis assumes implementing the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations or the demand for state correctional resources.