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 prosecution of and punishment for the criminal offense of failure to report certain sexual offenses committed against a child. Under the provisions of the bill, the list of behaviors for the prosecution of this offense would be expanded, and the punishment would be a state jail felony with the punishment level increasing in severity depending upon the circumstances of the offense. Under current statute, failure to stop or report aggravated sexual assault of a child is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.
A second degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 2 to 20 years, a third degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for a term of 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 felony 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 and expanding the list of behaviors for the prosecution of any offense is expected to result in additional demands upon the correctional resources of the counties or of the state due an increase in the number of people being placed under supervision in the community and being admitted to state correctional institutions. From fiscal year 2018 to 2020, 100 people were arrested and fewer than 10 were placed on direct community supervision for failure to stop or report aggravated sexual assault of a child offenses 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.