Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1730 by Schaefer (Relating to the punishment for the offense of indecent exposure; increasing a criminal penalty.), As Engrossed
The bill would increase the penalty for the Class B misdemeanor offense of indecent exposure to a Class A misdemeanor if the defendant has been previously convicted and to a state jail felony if the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times.
Increasing 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 or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 1,029 individuals arrested, 161 individuals placed on adult community supervision, no individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 70 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision for indecent exposure. It is unknown how many individuals had previous convictions under this section.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.