Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1969 by Bettencourt (Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses committed on or near the premises of a day-care center, school, or postsecondary educational institution.), As Introduced
The bill would make certain sexual offenses subject to penalty enhancement one category higher if the offense is committed on or near the premises of a day-care center, school, or postsecondary educational institution, or two categories higher if the actor has previously been convicted twice of such an offense.
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 4,572 individuals arrested, 909 individuals placed on adult community supervision, 779 individuals placed on juvenile probation supervision, 917 individuals admitted to an adult state correctional institution, and 21 individuals admitted to a juvenile state correctional institution for a sexual offense specified in the bill. It is unknown how many of these offenses were committed on or near the premises of a day-care center, school, or postsecondary educational institution.
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 cases that would qualify for a penalty enhancement under the provisions of the bill.