Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1422 by Hull (Relating to the rights of victims of sexual assault and other sex offenses, the offense of continuous sexual abuse, and the prosecution and punishment of certain sex offenses; creating a criminal offense; increasing criminal penalties.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1422, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($2,316,915) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Relaxing criteria for multiple prosecution and exceptional sentencing, creating a new criminal offense, and expanding the conduct constituting and 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. The fiscal implications of the bill relating to criminal offenses cannot be determined due to a lack of data to identify cases that meet the bill's criteria for specific sentencing options, penalties, or penalty enhancements.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($1,312,281)
2027
($1,004,634)
2028
($1,004,634)
2029
($1,004,634)
2030
($1,004,634)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from Federal Funds 555
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2025
2026
($1,312,281)
($3,378,789)
7.0
2027
($1,004,634)
($3,378,789)
7.0
2028
($1,004,634)
($3,378,789)
7.0
2029
($1,004,634)
($3,378,789)
7.0
2030
($1,004,634)
($3,378,789)
7.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would provide for the testing and comparison of DNA evidence without regard to whether a report of the offense is made to a law enforcement agency. Under current procedures, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) cannot submit DNA samples for comparison to the federal CODIS DNA database unless a report of the offense has been made to a law enforcement agency; making such a submission would violate agreements with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and put the agency at risk of a loss of federal funding.
The bill would require DPS to process and store an additional number of sexual assault kits, necessitating additional agency staff.
The bill would require DPS to upgrade certain tracking software to comply with the bill's victim consent and additional evidence submission provisions.
The bill would allow for multiple prosecutions with options for concurrent or consecutive sentencing for the offenses of sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault in certain cases where the victim is younger than 17 years of age and a plea agreement is reached.
The bill would relax criteria for a 25 year minimum term of imprisonment for the offense of aggravated sexual assault by excluding certain offense circumstances and raising the minimum victim age to 14 years.
The bill would relax previous conviction criteria for the exceptional sentencing of the offense of aggravated sexual assault as a capital felony.
The bill would create the first degree felony offense of continuous sexual abuse, committed when, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, an actor 17 years of age or older commits three or more acts of sexual abuse, as defined in the bill, and the victim meets certain age requirements. The offense would be punishable with a minimum 25 year term of imprisonment.
The bill would amend conduct constituting and increase penalties for the offense of voyeurism. Under existing statute, the offense is punishable along a penalty range from a Class C misdemeanor to a state jail felony; the bill would provide for a penalty range from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony. The bill would expand existing penalty enhancement criteria for the offense to include victims up to 18 years of age.
Methodology
According to the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could not be absorbed within existing resources. DPS states that 6.0 additional Forensic Scientist III would be needed to test an estimated 1,300 non-reported sexual assault test kits, with each forensic scientist completing an average of 18 DNA cases per month. Additionally, DPS also estimates the agency would need 1.0 Program Specialist V to support increased full-time equivalent positions.
This analysis includes $679,375 in fiscal year 2026 and $679,375 in fiscal year 2027 for salary and benefits. Other costs including rent, consumable supplies, travel, other operating expenses, and capital expenditures would total $632,906 in fiscal year 2026 and $325,259 in fiscal year 2027.
DPS also estimates a potential loss of $3,378,789 per fiscal year in federal funds related to the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program due to CODIS non-compliance.
Technology
DPS estimates $225,000 in fiscal year 2026 for software upgrades to the Laboratory Information Management System to track cases under the provisions of the bill.
Local Government Impact
While the fiscal impact cannot be determined, relaxing criteria for multiple prosecution and exceptional sentencing, creating a new criminal offense, and expanding the conduct constituting and increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in increased demands upon local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or confined locally.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety