Revision: March 5, 2009, midnight
HB 538-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
04Mar2009… 0239h
2009 SESSION
06/05
HOUSE BILL 538-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for water pollution.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kappler, Rock 2; Rep. C. Christensen, Hills 19
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill clarifies certain penalties for water pollution.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04Mar2009… 0239h
09-0342
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to penalties for water pollution.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Pollution; Prohibited Acts. Amend RSA 485-A:14, V to read as follows:
V. Any person who fails to remove a submerged or partially submerged vehicle or container, as required by paragraph I, shall be guilty of a violation if the surface water is not the source, or a tributary to a source, from which the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village is taken, in whole or in part. Agents of the department of safety, division of safety services, or any police officer having jurisdiction over the water body, may issue citations for a violation of this section and issue fines of $500 for each day the vehicle remains in the water.
VI. Any person who knowingly fails to remove a submerged or partially submerged vehicle or container, as required by paragraph I, shall be guilty of a class B felony if the surface water is the source, or a tributary to a source, from which the domestic water supply of a city, town, or village is taken, in whole or in part.
2 Penalties. Amend RSA 485-A:15, I to read as follows:
I. It shall be unlawful for any person to put or place, or cause to be put or placed into a surface water of the state or on the ice over such waters, or on the banks of such waters, any solid waste as defined in RSA 149-M or hazardous waste as defined in RSA 147-A, including but not limited to bottles, glass, crockery, cans, scrap metal, junk, paper, garbage, tires, old automobiles or parts thereof, trees or parts thereof, or similar litter.
3 Penalties. Amend RSA 485-A:15, IV to read as follows:
IV. Any person [responsible for a violation of] who negligently violates paragraph I shall be guilty of a violation if a natural person, or guilty of a misdemeanor if any other person.
V. Any person who recklessly violates paragraph I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.
VI. Any person who purposely or knowingly violates paragraph I shall be guilty of a class B felony.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.
LBAO
09-0342
01/14/09
HB 538-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for water pollution.
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 amends RSA 485-A:14 and 15, the prohibited acts and penalty provisions of the statute dealing with water pollution and waste disposal, 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
09-0342
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.