TO:	Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3318 by Farrar (Relating to the punishment of certain parents for the murder of the parent's infant. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The bill would amend the Penal Code relating to the punishment stage of a trial in which a defendant is guilty of causing the death of a child; the defendant may raise the issue of impairment under certain conditions.  If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense would be punishable as a state jail felony.  The bill would apply to a trial that commences on or after September 1, 2009.

A state jail felony is punishable by confinement in a state jail for any term of not more than two years or less than 180 days, or, in addition to confinement, a fine not to exceed $10,000.

For this analysis it is assumed that the bill would not result in a significant impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.