The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Occupations Codes as it relates to the offenses of soliciting patients and failure to disclose. Under the provisions of the bill, the criminal penalties for these offenses would increase. Under existing statute, soliciting patients and failure to disclose are punishable as a misdemeanor or felony based on the circumstances of the offense.
A second-degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years, a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 10 years, and 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 felonies can be 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 criminal penalty for an offense 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 onto supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement within state correctional institutions. From fiscal years 2018 through 2020, an average of fewer than ten people were arrested, placed onto community supervision, or admitted into a state correctional institution for soliciting patients or failure to disclose 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.