Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB28 by Slawson (Relating to enhancing the punishment for certain conduct constituting the criminal offense of aggravated assault.), As Engrossed
The bill would increase the penalty for the offense of aggravated assault from a second degree felony to a first degree felony in cases where the actor used a deadly weapon during the assault and caused a traumatic brain or spine injury to another that resulted in a persistent vegetative state or irreversible paralysis.
Expanding the conduct constituting and modifying the penalty for 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 17,778 individuals arrested, 3,412 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 1,539 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 2,884 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and 83 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for the offense of aggravated assault.
While the impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources is indeterminate due to the unavailability of data to identify cases in which the offense caused a traumatic brain or spine injury to another that resulted in a persistent vegetative state or irreversible paralysis, it is assumed that any impact would not be significant.