TO:	Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1795 by Anchía (relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain conduct constituting the offense of dog fighting or the offense of cockfighting.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The bill would increase the Class A misdemeanor penalty for the offense of dog fighting to a state jail felony when the offense conduct relates to certain training. The bill would increase the Class A misdemeanor penalty for the offense of cockfighting to a state jail felony when the offense conduct relates to the use of certain spaces, to certain ownership of or training of a cock, or to certain behaviors involving sharp implements designed for attachment to a cock.

Increasing the penalty for an existing offense 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 66 arrests, no referrals, four placements onto adult community supervision, no individuals admitted into an adult state correctional facility, and no individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional facility for any of the Class A misdemeanor conduct which would be punishable as a state jail felony under the bill's provisions. 

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