Honorable Pete Flores, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB872 by Birdwell (Relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle involving theft of a firearm; increasing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced
The bill would increase the penalty for the offense of burglary of a vehicle to a third degree felony when the actor commits theft of a firearm while burgling the vehicle.
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 5,894 arrests, 774 referrals, 282 placements on adult community supervision, 92 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional facility, and 1 individual admitted into a juvenile state correctional facility for Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony vehicular burglary offenses which, under the bill's provisions, could be prosecuted as third degree felonies if the actor commits theft of a firearm while burgling the vehicle. It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.