Honorable Todd Hunter, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2424 by Birdwell (Relating to the creation of the criminal offense of improper entry from a foreign nation.), As Engrossed
The bill would create the Class A misdemeanor offense of improper entry from a foreign nation. The penalty would be increased to a state jail felony in the case of a previous conviction of the offense and increased to a second or first degree felony in the case of certain previous felony convictions.
Creating a new criminal 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.
According to the information reported by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) pursuant to Article IX, Section 7.10 of the GAA and Section 9 of House Bill 9, Eighty-seventh Legislature, Second Called Session, DPS reported 63,707 detentions and referrals to federal authorities in border regions during fiscal year 2022. It is unknown if any of these cases included conduct outlined in the bill's provisions.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to a lack of data to estimate the prevalence of conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.