Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1403 by Johnson, Ann (Relating to the imposition of consecutive sentences for certain offenses arising out of the same criminal episode.), As Engrossed
The provisions of the bill addressing sentencing are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Penal Code as it relates to the imposition of consecutive sentences for certain offenses arising out of the same criminal episode. Under existing statute, only certain offenses from within specific groups may be combined for the imposition of consecutive sentences. Under the provisions of the bill, these same offenses could be combined across groups, allowing for increased flexibility in the application of consecutive sentencing.
The impact of the provisions of the bill would be apparent among individuals received into state correctional institutions with concurrent sentences and with convictions for at least two of the specified offenses. After applying the observed ratio of consecutive to concurrent sentences, the number of individuals who could be subject to the bill's provisions for consecutive sentencing would not result in a significant impact on state correctional resources. 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.