HB578 (2009) Detail

Relative to testimony by video teleconference.


HB 578-FN-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

24Mar2009… 0746h

05/13/09 1569s

2009 SESSION

09-0326

03/04

HOUSE BILL 578-FN-LOCAL

AN ACT relative to testimony by video teleconference.

SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27

COMMITTEE: Transportation

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill authorizes testimony by video teleconference at department of safety motor vehicle administrative hearings.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24Mar2009… 0746h

05/13/09 1569s

09-0326

03/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

AN ACT relative to testimony by video teleconference.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; Bureau of Hearings; Testimony by Video Teleconference. Amend RSA 21-P:13 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. In an administrative hearing in a motor vehicle case, the bureau of hearings shall require all parties and witnesses to appear and testify in person, except that the bureau may take testimony by video teleconference if requested by a party to the hearing who gives adequate notice to the bureau and the other parties to the hearing and all parties consent in advance in writing, provided that such testimony provided by video teleconference is limited to the matters relating to a motor vehicle hearing that is open to the public in accordance with RSA 541-A.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

09-0326

Amended 06/08/09

HB 578 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to testimony by video teleconference.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Department of Safety states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2009-1569s), will have an indeterminable impact on state, county, and local expenditures in FY 2010 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

    The Department of Safety states this bill amends current law to allow testimony by video teleconference for Department testimony open to the public during administrative hearings and for technical specialist or keeper of record testimony during motor vehicle violation cases. The Department estimates that increased costs related to this bill would entail the following: computer software to host videoconferencing sessions for $468, the annual cost of high-speed internet access for $13,000, and a one-time cost of hardware (monitors, recorders, computers, etc.) for $68,420. However, the Department cannot estimate the savings expected to be generated by allowing video teleconferencing testimony. Those efficiency gains relate specifically to reductions in overtime, mileage, and vehicle use costs, and without those estimates the Department cannot determine the bill’s net fiscal impact on state expenditures, although it assumes the long term result will be a cost savings. The Department also estimated that county and local governments could also see these potential cost savings as a result of this bill.

    This bill does not contain an appropriation.