WAS BURGLARY OF VEHICLE EVER A FELONY OFFENSE IN TEXAS? IF SO, WHY WAS IT DOWNGRADED TO A MISDEMEANOR AND WHO WERE THE ONES THAT CHANGED IT?

THANKS

I can speak to when it was downgraded (1994) but I would have to do some research into the legislative history for the who/why. There are probably prosecutors on the forum who can remember that happening and address it.

The Texas Punishment Standards Commission, through a committee that had ranked the seriousness of crimes, moved burglary of a motor vehicle from felony to misdemeanor during a re-write of the Penal Code that was adopted by the Legislature in 1993 and made effective in 1994.

The Commission relied upon the principle that crimes against people should be considered more serious than crimes against property. Influencing that decision was the recognition that, at the time of the decision, there were about 4,000 inmates in Texas prisons for the crime of burglary of a vehicle. By moving the crime from felony to misdemeanor, the Legislature freed more expensive prison beds for use by more dangerous violent criminals.

Since that decision, law enforcement has repeatedly pushed for the offense to be returned to a felony punishment range. The Legislature, largely through the leadership of Sen. Whitmire and the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, has refused to move any bills that seek to accomplish that goal.

Eventually, the Legislature did accept a bill that made a 3rd BMV offender a state jail felony. (That is consistent with other repeat offender enhancements: theft, DWI. However, assault with family violence becomes a third degree felony upon a 2nd offense.) In addition, a BMV crime that involves 3 or more people could be enhanced through the engaging in organized criminal activity statute if there is ongoing criminal activity related to the BMV.

BMV is a frequent crime. There is no doubt that moving it down to a misdemeanor influenced criminals to pursue that crime. But, the cost to the state of moving it back to a felony is hard to dispute. Perhaps the Leg would consider moving the BMV to a felony upon a 2nd, rather than waiting for a 3rd, conviction for the crime.