Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2880 by Hughes (Relating to abortion, including civil liability for distribution of abortion-inducing drugs, and to the destruction of certain property; making conforming changes and harmonizing conforming provisions; creating criminal offenses; authorizing a private civil right of action.), As Introduced
The bill would create the second degree felony offense of paying or reimbursing abortion costs, committed when a person knowingly pays for or reimburses costs associated with obtaining an elective abortion, and make it punishable as a first degree felony in the event the unborn child or pregnant woman dies as a result of the offense. The bill would create the second degree felony offense of destroying evidence of abortion, committed when a person knowingly or recklessly conceals, destroys, or spoliates evidence of an elective abortion performed or attempted. The bill would expand the conduct constituting the offense of engaging in organized criminal activity to include certain abortion related offenses and offenses relating to certain property damage or destruction as elements of the offense, and subject them to increased penalties.
Creating new offenses and expanding conduct constituting an existing offense may result in an increase in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to possible increases in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
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.