Honorable Pete Flores, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
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, punishment, and collateral consequences of certain sex offenses; creating a criminal offense; increasing criminal penalties; changing the eligibility for community supervision, mandatory supervision, and parole for persons convicted of certain sex offenses.), As Engrossed
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 two or more acts of sexual abuse, as defined in the bill, against two or more victims.
The bill would provide for exceptional sentencing to life imprisonment for defendants who are convicted of certain offenses and who were previously convicted of continuous sexual abuse and provide for third degree felony punishment in cases when a previous final conviction for continuous sexual abuse is shown on the trial of a state jail felony offense.
The bill would provide for second degree felony punishment of the offense of criminal solicitation of a minor in certain circumstances when the solicited offense is continuous sexual abuse and of the offense of child grooming in cases when the actor has been previously convicted of continuous sexual abuse. The bill would expand conduct constituting the state jail or third degree felony offense of sexual coercion to include when the threatened conduct is the commission of continuous sexual abuse.
The bill would make the offense of continuous sexual abuse a reportable conviction or adjudication for purposes of the sex offender registration program.
The bill would disallow placement on community supervision in cases when an individual commits continuous sexual abuse or commits burglary of a habitation with intent to commit continuous sexual abuse and disallow placement on deferred adjudication community supervision when an individual is charged with the offense of continuous sexual abuse.
The bill would disallow release on parole for an inmate serving a sentence for continuous sexual abuse, mandatory supervision for an inmate serving a sentence for or previously convicted of continuous sexual abuse, and release to intensive supervision parole in certain circumstances for an inmate convicted of continuous sexual abuse.
The bill would raise the qualifying victim age from under 6 years to under 10 years for the applicability of a minimum 25 year term of imprisonment for the offense of aggravated sexual assault and allow for multiple prosecutions with options for concurrent or consecutive sentencing for sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault regardless of victim age.
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 Class C misdemeanor to state jail felony; the bill would provide for a penalty range from Class A misdemeanor to third degree felony. The bill would amend and add to existing criteria for penalty enhancement.
Creating a new offense, expanding conduct constituting and increasing penalties for existing offenses, and disallowing supervisory alternative punishments for offenses may result in additional demands upon state correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals confined and in the length of stay for individuals sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 8,342 arrests, 1,110 referrals, 792 placements on adult community supervision, 2,060 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 94 individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the offenses of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, and for certain other sexual and preparatory offenses provided in the bill as elements of or as offenses the conduct of which may be expanded by the new offense of continuous sexual abuse.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 8 arrests, no referrals, 3 placements on adult community supervision, no admissions into an adult state correctional institution, and no admissions into a juvenile state correctional institution for the offense of voyeurism.
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.