Honorable Todd Hunter, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB20 by Schaefer (Relating to measures to ensure the safety and welfare of the southern border region of this state, including protection from ongoing criminal activity and public health threats; creating a criminal offense; creating a civil penalty.), As Introduced
The bill would create a third degree felony trespass offense for knowingly entering the property of another without effective consent when knowingly entering the state from a neighboring jurisdiction. The bill would expand the offense involving unauthorized acts involving the Department of Public Safety name, insignia, or division name to include use of the term "Border Protection Unit" in connection with an object, with the intent to create the appearance that the object belongs to or is being used by the department.
Creating a new offense and expanding the conduct constituting an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 23,885 individuals arrested, 748 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 432 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, and no individuals admitted into an adult or juvenile state correctional institution for criminal trespassing. It is unknown if any of these cases involved an individual entering the state. There were no individuals arrested, placed on community supervision, or admitted into a correctional institution for the offense involving unauthorized acts involving the Department of Public Safety name, insignia, or division name.
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 the prevalence of conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.