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 increasing penalties for certain solicitation, prostitution, or trafficking offenses. Under the provisions of the bill, certain offenses would be enhanced to the next higher offense level if it involved a school as outlined in the bill. Under existing statute, these offenses can be punished as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the specific circumstances of the offense.
A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or a term from 5 to 99 years; 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; a state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for a term from 180 days to 2 years or a 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.
Enhancing the criminal penalties 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 370 people were arrested, 48 were placed onto community supervision, and 62 were admitted into a state correctional institution for the offenses that would be enhanced under the provisions of the bill. There is a lack of data to identify those cases that involved a school premise as outlined in the bill from all other prostitution, solicitation, or trafficking 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.