Supplement: TX HB4843 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Fiscal Note (Senate Committee Report)
For additional supplements on Texas HB4843 please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: Relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for certain felony offenses in which a firearm is used or exhibited, to certain consequences on conviction of certain of those offenses, and to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
Status: 2023-05-28 - Motion withdrawn [HB4843 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB4843-Fiscal_Note_Senate_Committee_Report_.html
Bill Title: Relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for certain felony offenses in which a firearm is used or exhibited, to certain consequences on conviction of certain of those offenses, and to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
Status: 2023-05-28 - Motion withdrawn [HB4843 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB4843-Fiscal_Note_Senate_Committee_Report_.html
| TO: |
Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs |
| FROM: |
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
|
| IN RE: |
HB4843 by Holland (relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for certain felony offenses in which a firearm is used or exhibited, to certain consequences on conviction of certain of those offenses, and to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted |
Changing eligibility for community supervision, increasing the time until parole eligibility, and 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. The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to a lack of data to identify the number of cases where there was an affirmative finding of the use or exhibition of a firearm or to estimate the sentence length for the increased penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony and any subsequent compounding increase in demand for community supervision resources and prison bed capacity.
The bill would increase the minimum term of imprisonment to 10 years for certain felony offenses if there was an affirmative finding regarding the use or exhibition of a firearm. The bill would prohibit a defendant from being eligible for deferred adjudication community supervision for such an offense. In placing a defendant on jury-recommended community supervision for such an offense, the bill would require the judge to place the defendant on community supervision for a period of 10 years. The bill would provide that a defendant granted jury-recommended supervision for such an offense who is convicted of another offense while on such community supervision would serve a consecutive sentence for the new offense. The bill would prohibit an individual serving a sentence for such an offense from being eligible for release on parole in less than 10 calendar years.
The Office of Court Administration (OCA) does not anticipate a significant fiscal impact to the state court system. The Comptroller of Public Accounts and OCA indicate that there may be a revenue impact related to court costs but that the impact cannot be determined.
Based on the February 2023 Criminal and Juvenile Justice Uniform Cost Report, the uniform cost per day was $2.24 for an adult on felony community supervision and $77.49 for an adult incarcerated in a systemwide facility.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to a lack of data to identify the number of cases where there was an affirmative finding of the use or exhibition of a firearm or to estimate the sentence length for the increased penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony and any subsequent compounding increase in demand for community supervision resources and prison bed capacity.
The bill would increase the punishment level from a third degree felony to a second degree felony for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
The Office of Court Administration (OCA) does not anticipate a significant fiscal impact to the state court system. The Comptroller of Public Accounts and OCA indicate that there may be a revenue impact related to court costs but that the impact cannot be determined.
Based on the February 2023 Criminal and Juvenile Justice Uniform Cost Report, the uniform cost per day was $2.24 for an adult on felony community supervision and $77.49 for an adult incarcerated in a systemwide facility.
The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to a lack of data to identify the number of cases where there was an affirmative finding of the use or exhibition of a firearm or to estimate the sentence length for the increased penalty for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony and any subsequent compounding increase in demand for community supervision resources and prison bed capacity.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal impact to units of local government cannot be determined; however, increasing the penalty sentence length for certain defendants may result in an increase of the demands upon local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the length of stay for individuals placed under supervision in the community.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JMc, SMAT, LBO, ESch, DGI |
