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 criminal offense of murder. Under the provisions of the bill, murder committed by a peace officer acting under the authority of the state or a political subdivision of the state under certain circumstances would be punishable as a first degree felony with a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years.   

A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

Increasing the minimum term of confinement is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the State due to an increase in the length of those sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. From fiscal year 2018 through 2020, an average of 703 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed onto felony direct community supervision, and 388 were admitted to a state correctional institution for the first degree felony offense of murder under existing statute.  There is a lack of data to identify those cases where the actor is a peace officer from all other murder cases. 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.