Revision: Jan. 23, 2009, midnight
HB 578-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/04
HOUSE BILL 578-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to testimony by video teleconference.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27
This bill authorizes testimony by video teleconference at department of safety administrative hearings and in district and superior court motor vehicle cases.
This bill was requested by the department of safety.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0326
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. The commissioner of safety or designee is authorized, whenever the commissioner deems it feasible, upon giving timely written notice to the parties, to provide to the parties to an administrative hearing the opportunity to hold the hearing and take testimony by video teleconference, provided that testimony is limited to the matters relating to hearings that are open to the public in accordance with RSA 541-A. Either party shall have an opportunity to file a timely written objection to the introduction of testimony by video teleconference, stating its reasons for the objection, and the commissioner or designee, upon determining that one or more of the parties would be substantially disadvantaged in presenting their case by video teleconference, may order live testimony.
2 Testimony by Video Teleconference. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 516:37 to read as follows:
Testimony by Video Teleconference in Criminal and Motor Vehicle Cases
3 New Section; Testimony by Video Teleconference for Motor Vehicle Violations. Amend RSA 516 by inserting after section 37 the following new section:
516:38 Testimony by Video Teleconference for Motor Vehicle Violations. In any contested case for an alleged motor vehicle violation in district or superior court at which a keeper of the records or technical specialist from the department of safety, bureau of hearings or division of motor vehicles is summoned to testify, the state may move to take the testimony of the keeper of the records or technical specialist by video teleconference, provided that the testimony is limited to expert testimony or to the results of and matters relating to records of the department of safety. Notice shall be provided to the defendant, and the defendant shall have an opportunity to object to the introduction of testimony by video teleconference.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-0326
01/22/09
HB 578-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to testimony by video teleconference.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill will have an indeterminable impact on state, county, and local expenditures in FY 2009 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.