Revision: Jan. 22, 2009, midnight
HB 537-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
06/05
HOUSE BILL 537-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for oil spills.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kappler, Rock 2; Rep. C. Christensen, Hills 19
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill clarifies the penalties for oil spill violations.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0341
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to penalties for oil spills.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Oil Spills; Penalties. Amend RSA 146-A:14, I and II to read as follows:
I. Any person who [willfully] recklessly discharges or spills oil into or onto the surface water or groundwater of the state or in a land area where the oil will ultimately seep into such waters or any person who [willfully] recklessly violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or guilty of a felony if any other person. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate offense.
II. Any person who purposely or knowingly discharges or spills oil into or onto the surface water or groundwater of the state or in a land area where the oil will ultimately seep into such waters or any person who purposely or knowingly violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a class B felony. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate offense.
[II.] II-a. Any person who discharges or spills oil into or onto the surface water or groundwater of the state or in a land area where the oil will ultimately seep into such waters or any person who [willfully] violates any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation. Each day of a continuing violation shall count as a separate violation. [Any person who fails to comply with any rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $4,000 for each violation. Each day of a continuing violation shall count as a separate violation.] Civil penalties for violation of any rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter shall not accrue until the department provides notification of such violation. The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive relief, including a mandatory injunction.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.
LBAO
09-0341
01/14/09
HB 537-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for oil spills.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, the Department of Corrections, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will amend RSA 146-A:14, the penalty provision of the statute dealing with oil discharge or spillage in surface water or ground water, to increase the penalty from an unspecified misdemeanor to a class B felony. The Branch states this bill will not add cases to the docket, but has the potential to increase the cost of existing cases with the increased penalty. The Branch states the cost of an unspecified misdemeanor case is $35.75 and the cost of a class B felony case is $335.98 in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. Increasing the penalty from an unspecified misdemeanor to a class B felony will increase the cost by $300.23 per case. The Branch has no information to estimate how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in the bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. However, if a single case were to be appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the fiscal impact would be in excess of $10,000.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor or $756.24 per felony is charged by a public defender or contract attorney. If an assigned counsel attorney is used, the fee is $60 per hour with a cap of $1,400 for a misdemeanor charge and $4,100 for a felony charge. The Council also states additional costs could be incurred if an appeal is filed. The public defender, contract attorney and assigned counsel rates for Supreme Court appeals is $2,000 per case, with many assigned counsel attorneys seeking permission to exceed the fee cap. Requests to exceed the fee cap are seldom granted. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.
LBAO
09-0341
01/14/09
The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 was $32,753. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 was $779. The Department states this bill may increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount, but is unable to predict the number of individuals that might be impacted.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent an individual is prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be detained or incarcerated as a result of this bill. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $30,165 a year.