LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT

88TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 21, 2023

TO:
Honorable Terry Canales, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
 
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB3747 by Goldman (relating to the criminal penalty for the offense of the unauthorized reproduction, purchase, use, sale, or possession of a temporary tag; creating a criminal offense; increasing criminal penalties.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor offense to possess an unauthorized temporary tag. The bill would increase the penalty for producing or reproducing a temporary tag or an item represented to be a temporary tag for the purpose of distributing the tag to someone other than a dealer or converter from a state jail felony to a third degree felony. The bill would increase the penalty for the unauthorized sale or distribution of a temporary tag or an item represented to be a temporary tag from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony. The bill would increase the penalty for operating a vehicle that displays an unauthorized temporary tag from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. 

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 in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement. 

In fiscal year 2022, there were 33 individuals arrested, 5 individuals placed on community supervision, and no individuals admitted into a state correctional institution for certain offenses of relating to the unauthorized sale or distribution of or producing or reproducing a temporary tag.  

It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.



Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
JMc, AAL, LBO, MGol