The provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions are the subject of this analysis.  The bill would amend the Penal Code to enhance the punishment for possession of child pornography from a third to a second degree felony or a first degree felony for those with previous possession of child pornography convictions. The bill would also enhance the punishment for the promotion of child pornography from a second to a first degree felony. The bill would make individuals convicted of these offenses ineligible for release to parole supervision until their calendar time served, without consideration of good conduct time, equaled one-half of their sentence. 

A first degree felony is punishable by confinement in prison for life or five to 99 years, a second degree felony for two to 20 years, and a third degree felony for two to ten years.  In addition to confinement certain felony level offenses are subject to an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

 
Enhancing the penalty for any criminal offense and increasing the amount of time an offender must serve before becoming eligible for parole is expected to result in increased demands upon the correctional resources of counties or of the state due to longer terms of supervision in the community or longer terms of confinement in state correctional institutions. In fiscal year 2014, 253 people were arrested, 55 were placed under felony community supervision, and 97 were admitted into state correctional institutions for possession of child pornography.  In fiscal year 2014, 54 people were arrested, fewer than ten were placed under felony community supervision, and fewer than ten were admitted into state correctional institutions for promotion of child pornography. This analysis assumes the provisions of the bill addressing felony sanctions for criminal offenses would not result in a significant impact on state correctional populations, programs, or workloads.