Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4843 by Holland (Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.), As Engrossed
Increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals confined and in the length of stay for individuals sentenced to a term of confinement. The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to a lack of data to estimate sentence length for the offense when punished under the bill's provisions as a second degree felony and any subsequent compounding increase in demand for community supervision resources and prison bed capacity.
The bill would increase the punishment level from a third degree felony to a second degree felony for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
Based on the February 2023 Criminal and Juvenile Justice Uniform Cost Report, the uniform cost per day was $2.24 for an adult on felony community supervision and $77.49 for an adult incarcerated in a systemwide facility. In fiscal year 2022, there were 1,080 individuals placed on community supervision and 1,745 individuals admitted into a state correctional institution for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony. The average lengths of supervision or stay for an individual released from community supervision or prison in fiscal year 2022 for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony were approximately 3.2 years and 1.9 years, respectively. Under current law, the minimum period of community supervision for a felony case is the same as the minimum term of imprisonment applicable to the offense. Also, the minimum term of imprisonment for both a third degree and a second degree felony offense is 2 years, while the maximum terms of imprisonment are 10 years and 20 years, respectively.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to a lack of data to estimate sentence length for the offense when punished under the bill's provisions as a second degree felony and any subsequent compounding increase in demand for community supervision resources and prison bed capacity.
Local Government Impact
While the fiscal impact to units of local government cannot be determined, it would be contingent on costs associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement related to the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.