Honorable Ryan Guillen, Chair, House Committee on Community Safety, Select
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4014 by Murr (Relating to prohibiting the carrying of a firearm by a member of a criminal street gang while engaged in certain criminal activity; creating a criminal offense; changing the eligibility for community supervision.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The bill would create a third degree felony offense for the carrying of a firearm by a member of a criminal street gang while engaged in certain criminal activity. The bill would prohibit placement on community supervision for a defendant convicted of such an offense and would prohibit release on personal bond or placement on deferred adjudication community supervision for a defendant charged with such an offense. The bill would repeal the Class A misdemeanor offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a member of a criminal street gang.
Creating a new criminal offense may result in an increase in 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 20,777 individuals arrested, 1,315 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 712 individuals placed on juvenile community supervision, and no individuals admitted into an adult or juvenile state correctional facility for the misdemeanor offense of unlawful carrying of a weapon. It is unknown how many of these cases involved a member of a criminal street gang and would be subject to an increased criminal penalty under the bill's provisions.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 230 individuals arrested, 5 individuals placed on adult community supervision, no individuals placed on juvenile community supervision, and no individuals admitted into adult or juvenile state correctional facilities for the misdemeanor offense of unlawful possession of a handgun. It is unknown how many of these cases involved a member of a criminal street gang.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data to identify cases that involved a member of a criminal street gang and to estimate the prevalence of the specific conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.