HB 1559-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 1559-FN
AN ACT requiring home confinement for certain drug possession crimes.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 5
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires that persons convicted of certain controlled drug possession offenses be sentenced to home confinement instead of incarceration in a state or county correctional facility.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2409
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT requiring home confinement for certain drug possession crimes.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Controlled Drug Act; Penalties. Amend RSA 318-B:26, II(c)-(d) to read as follows:
(c) In the case of more than 5 grams of hashish, the person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and sentenced to home confinement under RSA 651:2, V, except that notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 651:2, IV(a), a fine of not more than $5,000 may be imposed.
(d) In the case of marijuana, including any adulterants or dilutants, or 5 grams or less of hashish, the person shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and sentenced to home confinement under RSA 651:2, V.
2 Sentences and Limitations; Home Confinement Required. Amend RSA 651:2, V(b) to read as follows:
(b)(1) In cases of persons convicted of felonies or class A misdemeanors, or in cases of persons found to be habitual offenders within the meaning of RSA 259:39 and convicted of an offense under RSA 262:23, the sentence may include, as a condition of probation, confinement to a person's place of residence for not more than one year in case of a class A misdemeanor or more than 5 years in case of a felony. Such home confinement may be monitored by a probation officer and may be supplemented, as determined by the department of corrections or by the county department of corrections, by electronic monitoring to verify compliance.
(2) In cases of persons convicted of a misdemeanor under RSA 318-B:26, II(c)-(d), the court shall not sentence the defendant to imprisonment at a state or county correctional facility, but shall instead sentence the defendant to home confinement in accordance with this paragraph.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.
LBAO
08-2409
12/11/07
HB 1559-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring home confinement for certain drug possession crimes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch has determined this bill may increase state expenditures and the Association of Counties has determined this bill may increase county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or on state, county and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch stated this bill would amend existing statute to provide for home confinement rather than incarceration in cases of conviction of possession of marijuana and five grams or less of hashish. The Branch indicated there is an ambiguity in the proposed bill that makes determination of the fiscal impact difficult. The Branch further stated that if the bill intends to require home confinement on all such convictions, the branch will likely incur costs. If the bill, however, intends to provide for home confinement in only those cases in which some confinement is part of the sentence, the bill will have minimal, and perhaps reduce branch expenditures.
The Department of Justice stated to the extent the bill creates new legal issues that a criminal defendant might appeal to the NH Supreme Court upon conviction, the Department would absorb the cost of representing the State on those appeals within its current budget.
The Department of Corrections stated that individuals convicted of a misdemeanor are incarcerated at County facilities, therefore there would be no fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections.
The Association of Counties stated the bill mandates home confinement as an alternative to incarceration for certain controlled drug convictions. The average annual cost of incarceration in a county correctional facility is approximately $29,000 annually. The Association further stated the capabilities of each county correctional department to run home confinement programming varies. County expenditures may increase or decrease depending upon individual county characteristics. Additionally this bill mandates sentencing to the custody of correctional facilities in cases which it is not clear such custody would be ordered by the court under current law. In such cases county expenditures would increase. It is also not clear whether under the mandated sentencing proposed whether it would include monitoring by probation officers and/or electronic monitoring and who would pay that cost. Currently such programs are inmate funded. If it is not, county expenditures would increase.