Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB382 by Collier (Relating to a defense to prosecution for the possession of certain consumable hemp products containing a controlled substance or marihuana.), As Introduced
The bill would create an exemption from an offense involving the possession of a controlled substance or marihuana if the person possesses a product labeled as containing a legal consumable hemp product that actually contains another controlled substance or marihuana if the person purchased the product from a retailer the person reasonably believed was authorized to sell a consumable hemp product.
Exempting certain individuals from the applicability of an existing criminal offense may result in a decrease in 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 97,787 individuals arrested, 15,352 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 1,974 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 3,451 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and 12 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for possession of a controlled substance or marihuana in violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act. It is unknown how many of these offenses would qualify for an exemption under the bill.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data necessary to identify the prevalence of conduct that would qualify for an exemption under the bill.