Honorable Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor, Senate
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1637 by King (Relating to the prosecution of the offense of deadly conduct.), As Passed 2nd House
The bill would make an exception for the offenses of recklessly engaging in conduct that places another person in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or knowingly discharging a firearm at or in the direction of one or more individuals if the person is a peace officer who is engaged in the actual discharge of their official duties and reasonably believed the discharge of the firearm was justified.
Making exceptions for an existing offense may result in reduced demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 1,687 arrests, 144 referrals, 453 placements onto adult community supervision, 3 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and no individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the offense of recklessly engaging in conduct that places another person in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.
In fiscal year 2024, there were 382 arrests, 8 referrals, 137 placements onto adult community supervision, 107 individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and no individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for the offense of knowingly discharging a firearm at or in the direction of one or more individuals.
While the proportion of these offenses that would be impacted by the provisions of the bill is unknown, it is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.