Honorable Ryan Guillen, Chair, House Committee on Community Safety, Select
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB636 by Patterson (Relating to the applicability to election judges of a prohibition on the carrying of a handgun at a polling place.), As Introduced
The bill would exempt an election judge who is licensed to carry a handgun from the applicability of the prohibition from carrying a handgun on the premises of a polling place on the day of an election or while early voting is in progress.
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 302 individuals arrested, 36 individuals placed on community supervision, and 11 individuals admitted into a state correctional institution for the felony offense of unlawfully possessing a weapon in a prohibited place. It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.