Honorable Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor, Senate
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1900 by Birdwell (Relating to foreign terrorist organizations, including the compilation of information regarding, certain civil actions brought against, and the prosecution of certain organized crime offenses involving a foreign terrorist organization.), As Passed 2nd House
The bill would expand the conduct constituting the offense of sedition and specify that a conspiracy to commit the offense is punishable in the same manner as the offense. The bill would expand the applicability of certain offenses relating to engaging in organized criminal activity to include a foreign terrorist organization, expand the conduct constituting the offense to include the unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance or dangerous drug and operation of a stash house, specify that a conspiracy to commit the offense is punishable in the same manner as the offense, and increase the punishment for the offense under certain circumstances relating to the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon.
Expanding the conduct constituting and modifying 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 no individuals arrested, placed on adult community supervision or juvenile probation supervision, or admitted to an adult or juvenile state correctional institution for sedition.
In fiscal year 2022, there were 9,875 individuals arrested, 1,926 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 119 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 2,825 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and 1 individual admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for manufacturing, delivering, or possessing with intent to deliver a controlled substance in violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act or a dangerous drug in violation of the Texas Dangerous Drug Act. In fiscal year 2022, there were 116 individuals arrested and 1 individual placed on adult community supervision for the offense of operation of a stash house. It is unknown how many of these offenses involved either possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance or dangerous drug or engagement with organized criminal activity or a foreign terrorist organization.
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 the number of additional cases that would qualify as an offense of engaging in organized criminal activity under the provisions of the bill. It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources related to the offense of sedition would not be significant.