The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis. The bill would amend the Occupations Code as it relates to the offense of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. Under the provisions of the bill, a person would commit a state jail felony if the person falsely represented themselves as a veterinarian and practiced veterinary medicine without a license as outlined in the bill. Under existing statute, this offense is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.   

A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000 or Class A misdemeanor punishment. 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 community supervision 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 offenses related to veterinary medicine 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.