Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1349 by Hughes (relating to creating the criminal offenses of transnational repression and unauthorized enforcement of foreign law and to a study and law enforcement training regarding transnational repression.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The bill would create the offense of transnational repression, committed when an agent of a foreign government or foreign terrorist organization commits or conspires to commit trafficking of persons, assault, aggravated assault, harassment, stalking, or compelling prostitution with intent to cause another person to act on behalf of a foreign government or foreign terrorist organization or to leave or be confined in the United States, or with intent to discourage the protected conduct of another person or retaliate against them for it. The penalty for the offense would be increased to one category higher than the most serious offense committed or conspired, with a minimum 15 year confinement in cases where the most serious offense is a first degree felony.
The bill would create the second degree felony offense of unauthorized enforcement of foreign law, committed when an agent of a foreign government or foreign terrorist organization prevents, or takes certain actions to prevent, another person from violating the laws of a foreign government.
Creating new criminal offenses 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.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 129,087 arrests, 16,104 referrals, 15,268 individuals placed onto adult community supervision, 7,564 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and 125 individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the trafficking of persons, assault, aggravated assault, harassment, stalking, and compelling prostitution offenses which would qualify as elements of the offense of transnational repression under the bill's specific circumstances.
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.