Revision: Jan. 1, 2008, midnight
SB 172-FN-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/15/07 0714s
2007 SESSION
04/01
SENATE BILL 172-FN-LOCAL
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill allows a county to contract with the state or another county for the reception and confinement of prisoners committed to or who are ordered to be detained at a 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/15/07 0714s
07-0353
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT allowing counties to share correctional facilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Counties; Buildings. Amend RSA 23:3 to read as follows:
23:3 Buildings. Every county shall have suitable [correctional facilities and other] buildings necessary for its uses[,] and suitable offices to insure the protection of the records of the register of deeds.
2 County Commissioners; Personnel. Amend RSA 28:11 to read as follows:
28:11 Personnel. [The commissioners of each county shall appoint a superintendent for: the county farm, the county nursing home, and the county department of corrections.] The commissioners of each county shall appoint a superintendent for the county nursing home and, if the county has a correctional facility, the county commissioners shall appoint a superintendent for the county department of corrections. They may also appoint such other officers, agents and employees as may be required to properly care for the same and their inmates.
3 County Departments of Corrections. Amend RSA 30-B:1 to read as follows:
30-B:1 County Department of Corrections.
I. [Each] A county shall provide, keep, and maintain facilities, administered by a county department of corrections, for the reception and confinement of prisoners committed to or ordered to be detained at a county correctional facility.
II. In fulfillment of the obligation set forth in paragraph I, a county may contract with the state or another county for the reception and confinement of prisoners committed to or who are ordered to be detained at a county correctional facility. All expenses related to the confinement of prisoners sent pursuant to this paragraph shall be a charge on the county sending such prisoners.
4 County Departments of Corrections; Real Estate. Amend RSA 30-B:2 to read as follows:
30-B:2 Real Estate; Buildings. [As provided in RSA 23:3, each county shall have suitable correctional facilities.] In accordance with RSA 28:7, when authorized by the county convention, the county commissioners may purchase such real estate as may be required for a county correctional facility; and may repair, enlarge, or erect county buildings housing county correctional facilities; and may sell any of the county's real estate. As provided in RSA 72:23, II, county correctional facilities shall be exempt from taxation except that county farms and their lands, buildings, and taxable personal property shall be taxed.
5 County Departments of Correction; Place of Commitment. Amend RSA 30-B:15, I to read as follows:
I. [Any person committed to a county correctional facility for any offense shall be committed to a county correctional facility in the county in which the offense is committed.] For any person sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months, the expense of lodging such person in a county correctional facility shall be a charge upon the county in which the offender resided at the time of the offense. For persons sentenced to terms of imprisonment in a county correctional facility that exceed 12 months, the first 12-month sentence shall be a charge upon the county. Any sentence exceeding 12 months of imprisonment shall be a charge upon the state.
6 Sentence to a County Correctional Facility. Amend RSA 651:17, II to read as follows:
II. The sentence shall be that the offender be confined to hard labor, for the term ordered by the court, in the county correctional facility of the county in which the crime was committed if such county has a correctional facility, or in the county correctional facility designated by agreement in RSA 30-B:1.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
07-0353
Revised 03/22/07
SB 172 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT allowing counties to share correctional facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Corrections and Association of Counties have determined this bill may have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state and county revenue and expenditures in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local revenue and expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Corrections states this bill allows counties to contract with the state or other counties for confinement of county prisoners. The level of fiscal impact would be based on several factors such as the level of bed space available at Department facilities, the costs of incarcerating an individual at Department facilities and the Counties’ interest in contracting with the Department based on its cost structure. The average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006 is $31,140.
The Association of Counties states this bill removes the requirement that counties maintain correctional facilities and allows a county to contract with another county or the state for confinement of prisoners. To the extent that counties choose to contract with other correctional facilities, this will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on expenditures.