The provision of the bill that is the subject of this analysis would amend the Penal Code by making the offense of burglary of a vehicle punishable as a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of the offense of burglary of a vehicle.  Under current statute, burglary of a vehicle is punishable as a state jail felony if the defendant has previously been convicted two or more times.  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after September 1, 2009.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed one year, a fine not to exceed $4,000, or both fine and imprisonment.  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 fiscal year 2008, there were 12 persons placed on community supervision and 30 persons admitted to state jails for the offense of burglary of a vehicle punishable as a state jail felony.  Under current statute, burglary of a vehicle is punishable as a state jail felony if the defendant has previously been convicted two or more times.  The impact from the bill will come from the defendants with punishments enhanced from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony because they have one previous conviction for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.  For fiscal year 2008, it is estimated there were 669 individuals placed on misdemeanor community supervision for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.  Based on arrest history data, direct court sentencing trends, and revocation rates, approximately 4 percent of the individuals would be sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state jail as either a direct court committment or as a result of felony community supervision revocation and approximately 19 percent of the individuals would be placed under felony probation supervision annually as a result of the bill.   

Assuming that sentencing patterns and release policies not addressed in this bill remain constant, the probable impact of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage, in terms of daily demand upon the adult corrections agencies, is estimated as follows: