TO:	Honorable Charles Perry, Chair, Senate Committee on Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB20 by Darby (Relating to certain measures to prevent and reduce fraudulent charitable solicitations and theft during disasters, including establishing a voluntary accreditation program for disaster relief organizations; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty; providing a civil cause of action.), As Engrossed

The bill would create a third degree felony offense of malicious solicitation of a disaster victim or for disaster response or recovery which can be enhanced up to a first degree felony dependent on certain circumstances.

The bill would increase the criminal penalty for the offense of theft in a disaster area to a state jail felony dependent on certain circumstances.

Creating a new offense and increasing the penalty for an existing 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. 

It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.