Revision: May 21, 2009, midnight
SB 70-FN – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
2009 SESSION
05/03
SENATE BILL 70-FN
AN ACT authorizing the office of mediation and arbitration within the judicial branch to provide pre-suit alternative dispute resolution services.
SPONSORS: Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2; Rep. Cote, Hills 23
This bill authorizes the office of mediation and arbitration within the judicial branch to provide pre-suit alternative dispute resolution services.
This bill is a request of the supreme court.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0937
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT authorizing the office of mediation and arbitration within the judicial branch to provide pre-suit alternative dispute resolution services.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Office of Mediation and Arbitration; Duties. Amend RSA 490-E:2, III and IV to read as follows:
III. Serve as an alternative dispute resolution resource to courts; [and]
IV. Support the administration of alternative dispute resolution programs in all courts[.]; and
2 New Paragraph; Office of Mediation and Arbitration; Duties. Amend RSA 490-E:2 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. Facilitate voluntary pre-suit mediation or arbitration services, in accordance with rules adopted by the supreme court, as an option in cases which would otherwise be filed in the trial courts.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
09-0937
01/06/09
SB 70-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT authorizing the office of mediation and arbitration within the judicial branch to provide pre-suit alternative dispute resolution services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will increase state restricted revenue and expenditures, and may decrease state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would amend RSA 490-E:2 to authorize the Office of Mediation and Arbitration (OMA), administered by the Branch, to undertake the facilitation of voluntary pre-suit alternative dispute resolution services, in addition to the 4 duties already described in the statute. The services provided by this amendment consist of pre-suit mediation and arbitration, and the Branch anticipates charging the parties to the dispute $100 per mediation case and $250 per arbitration case. The mediators/arbiters will be paid directly by the parties involved. Because the OMA is funded by a dedicated mediation and arbitration fund, the Branch states these fee amounts are subject to change and may be adjusted to ensure revenue is sufficient to cover expenses. The revenue and expenses in the dedicated fund generated by these pre-suit mediation and arbitration cases will be determined by the volume of cases processed, and the Branch does not estimate this volume. The Branch also states success in the OMA goal of facilitating these alternative dispute resolutions will mean fewer disputes requiring a trial and its associated expenses, which may generate a general fund cost savings.