TO:	Honorable Brian Birdwell, Chair, Senate Committee on Border Security
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB1518 by King (Relating to the establishment of a terrorist offender registry and to the supervision of those terrorist offenders; creating criminal offenses related to terrorism.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The bill would create the offense of failure to comply with the terrorist offender registration requirement outlined in the bill's provisions and would make it punishable as a third degree felony or as a second degree felony in certain circumstances. The bill would create the offense of terrorism for committing or conspiring to commit certain specified offenses with the intent to intimidate or coerce the public or a substantial group of the public; or use intimidation or coercion to influence the policy, conduct, or activities of the state, a political subdivision of the state, or the United States. The penalty for the terrorism offense would be one category higher than the most serious offense that was committed or conspired to commit, except in the case of a Class A misdemeanor or first degree felony which instead would provide minimum terms of confinement. The bill would create the offenses of aiding in commission of terrorism and hindering prosecution of terrorism which would each be punishable to the same degree as the terrorism offense that was aided or the prosecution of which was hindered.

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 30,149 individuals arrested, 5,208 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 2,937 individuals placed on juvenile community supervision, 7,145 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 197 juveniles admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the felony offenses which may be subject to the offense of terrorism as outlined in the bill's provisions. It is unknown if any of these cases involved conduct that would be subject to criminal penalties under the bill's provisions.