Committee adopts amendment and advances bill making delivery of telecommunications devices into prisons a felony

The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted a strike-and-insert for House Bill 4415 that increases penalties for transferring or delivering telecommunications devices into correctional facilities and expands the statutory definition of a telecommunications device.

Counsel told the committee the substitute contains the same language as Senate Bill 440 that the committee passed earlier in the session and explained the substantive changes: the offense of unlawfully transferring or delivering a telecommunications device into a correctional facility would be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony; the bill broadens the device definition to include additional electronic signals and devices that receive as well as transmit signals; several related offenses would see increased sentence ranges (for example, aiding an escape would change from 1–10 years to 3–15 years under the substitute), and monetary penalties in some sections would rise (for instance, certain fines would increase from $50–$500 to $1,000–$5,000). The substitute also removes a judge’s discretion to reduce certain felonies to misdemeanors and adds federal correctional facilities to the statute’s coverage.

Committee members asked questions but there were no substantive amendments; the chair put the amendment to a voice vote, declared the ayes have it, and reported the bill to the full Senate. Counsel stated the substitute contains no fiscal impact and no second reference was required.

What’s next: HB 4415 will be sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.