The bill would increase the limitations period for indictments to be presented for the offense of assault if the assault was committed against a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is described as dating, family, or household as defined by the Family Code. The limitations period would be increased from three to five years from the date of the commission of the offense for felony indictments and from two to three years from the date of the commission of the offense for misdemeanor indictments.
Extending the limitations period for indictments to be presented 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 55,137 individuals arrested, 8,457 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 2,193 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, and 2,710 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution for assault against a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is described as dating, family, or household as defined by the Family Code. There were 47 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for assault, although it is unknown whether these assaults meet the criteria specified by the bill.
Detailed arrest data relating to the date of offense and penalty level is only available for approximately 87.1 percent of fiscal year 2022 arrests for assault as specified by the bill. Of individuals arrested in fiscal year 2022 for a misdemeanor assault specified by the bill for which detailed arrest data exists, 368 were arrested greater than two years but less than three years after the date of the offense. Of individuals arrested in fiscal year 2022 for a felony assault specified by the bill for which detailed arrest data exists, 38 were arrested greater than three years but less than five years after the date of the offense.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.