HB 1403-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
04/09
HOUSE BILL 1403-FN
AN ACT relative to the performance of an abortion when there is a reasonable expectation of viability.
SPONSORS: Rep. Dumaine, Rock 3; Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. Boyce, Belk 5; Rep. N. Elliott, Hills 19
This bill imposes a criminal penalty on any person who performs an abortion on a pregnant woman under circumstances where there is a reasonable expectation that the fetus would be viable if delivered.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2592
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to the performance of an abortion when there is a reasonable expectation of viability.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Second Degree Assault; Unborn Child. Amend RSA 631:2, I to read as follows:
I. A person is guilty of a class B felony if [he] such person:
(a) Knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another; or
(b) Recklessly causes bodily injury to another by means of a deadly weapon, except that if the deadly weapon is a firearm, he or she shall be sentenced in accordance with RSA 651:2, II-g; or
(c) Recklessly causes bodily injury to another under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or
(d) Purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to a child under 13 years of age; or
(e) Recklessly or negligently causes injury to another resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth.
(f) Performs an abortion on a pregnant woman under circumstances where there is a reasonable expectation that the fetus would be viable if delivered, except that the pregnant woman having the abortion shall not be charged under this subparagraph.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
LBAO
08-2592
11/27/07
HB 1403-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the performance of an abortion when there is a reasonable expectation of viability.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Corrections, and Department of Justice state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue, or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would amend RSA 631:2, I, the second degree assault statute, to add a subparagraph (f), making it a second degree assault to perform an abortion on a pregnant woman under circumstances where there is a reasonable expectation that the fetus would be viable if delivered. The Branch has no information on which to estimate the number of charges that are likely to be brought pursuant to the proposed addition to the Criminal Code. The Branch estimates the cost of an average second degree assault prosecution in the trial court at $647.17 in FY 2009, and $661.17 in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. This includes judicial time, clerical time, jury costs, and bailiff costs, but does not consider the cost of any appeals that may be taken following trial. The Branch is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
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 contract attorney who accepts these cases on a fixed fee basis of $756.25 per felony charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $4,100 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 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 they are unable to predict the number of individuals would be affected by this legislation. The Department states in FY 2006, the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population was $31,140, and the cost to supervise an offender by the Department’s Division of Field Services was $1,174. The exact fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.
The Department of Justice states anyone charged under this statute would likely be prosecuted by a county attorney’s office. There would be some fiscal impact to the Department in instances when an appeal would be taken to the NH Supreme Court. Because it is difficult to estimate if any cases would be appealed to the Supreme Court, the Department is unable to estimate a fiscal impact. If the law was challenged, the Department could incur additional indeterminable expenditures associated with the defense of the bill.