HB 228-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2005 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 228-FN
AN ACT prohibiting cellular telephone directories in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Dickinson, Carr 1; Rep. Phinizy, Sull 5
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill prohibits the publication and dissemination of cellular telephone directories in New Hampshire.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05-0280
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT prohibiting cellular telephone directories in New Hampshire.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Violation of Privacy; Cellular Telephone Directories. Amend RSA 644:9 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. A person is guilty of a class B felony if that person publishes or disseminates any directory of New Hampshire cellular telephone numbers.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.
LBAO
05-0280
1/6/05
HB 228-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT prohibiting cellular telephone directories in New Hampshire.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and Department of Corrections state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2006 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would amend RSA 644:9,V to the violation of privacy statute. The new section would prohibit the publication or dissemination of directories of New Hampshire cellular telephone numbers. Violations would be a class B felony. The Branch cannot estimate how many prosecutions may be brought pursuant to the proposed statute. A felony offense can involve arraignment, bail, and probable cause hearings in the District Court, numerous hearings and a jury trial in the Superior Court, and an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Branch is unable to estimate the exact fiscal impact at this time, but states that any fiscal impact will result in increased delays in the processing of other cases.
The Judicial Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable will, in the first instance, be handled by the public defender or a contract attorney, who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $687.50 per felony charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $3,000 will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or “services other than counsel” are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. Any charge within the criminal justice system, committed by a juvenile, will be compensated within the flat fee contract system of $250 per case through disposition, plus $187.50 for each and every review hearing following disposition. Assigned counsel will be at the $60 per hour rate with a fee cap of $1,200. The fee cap may be waived upon motion filed with the court and approved in advance. Any case where a defendant has been found guilty may also result in appeals to either the Superior Court or to the Supreme Court which would have a cost implication for Indigent Defense expenditures made by the State. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases which may result from the passage of this bill, and are unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Corrections states the number of individuals who will be sentenced under this bill cannot be predicted at this time. The average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for FY 2004 was $27,533.
The Department of Justice states this bill should have a negligible fiscal impact, if any, on their Department, and any costs can be absorbed within their current budget.