Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB369 by Thompson, Senfronia (Relating to the criminal penalty for possession of certain small amounts of controlled substances in Penalty Group 1 or 1-B.), As Introduced
The bill would remove possession of up to 0.02 grams as conduct constituting the state jail felony offense of possession of a Penalty Group 1 or 1-B controlled substance of less than one gram and create a minimum threshold of a usable quantity that is more than 0.02 grams.
Reducing the penalty for an existing offense may result in reduced demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 31,206 individuals arrested, 6,564 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 4,017 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 146 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision for possession of less than one gram of a Penalty Group 1 or 1-B controlled substance, although the exact weight of these substances is unknown. There were 11 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional facility for possession of a controlled substance, although the penalty group classification and weight of these substances is unknown.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data to identify cases with a controlled substance weight below the threshold specified by the bill from all other cases of possession of less than one gram of a Penalty Group 1 or 1-B controlled substance.