Revision: March 17, 2010, midnight
HB 1334 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
17Feb2010… 0433h
2010 SESSION
08/05
HOUSE BILL 1334
AN ACT relative to penalties for unpaid fines concerning hazardous materials accidents.
SPONSORS: Rep. DeJoie, Merr 11
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill establishes a penalty for unpaid fines concerning hazardous materials and accidents.
This bill is a request of the state fire marshal.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17Feb2010… 0433h
10-2083
08/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to penalties for unpaid fines concerning hazardous materials accidents.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subparagraph; Penalty for Non-Payment; Hazardous Materials Accidents. Amend RSA 154:8-a, II-a by inserting after subparagraph (g) the following new subparagraph:
(h) A nonpayment penalty of $1,000 plus 10 percent of the amount billed may be assessed for each day of nonpayment starting the 15th day after the due date and continuing up to 30 days followed by an increase to 25 percent of the amount billed per day for each day until the payment is received. If the responsible party is not readily identifiable the cost shall be the responsibility of the operator of the hazardous materials’ firm.
2 Liability Concerning Hazardous Materials Accidents. Amend RSA 154:8-a. II-a(b) to read as follows:
(b) Any person whose act or omission caused the actual or threatened discharge of hazardous materials or toxic wastes which resulted in the reasonable and proportionate response of police, fire, emergency preparedness, or emergency response equipment shall be responsible for payment of any court costs and legal fees resulting from an actual or threatened discharge of hazardous material or toxic wastes and the personnel costs of police, fire, public safety, and municipal personnel, including mutual aid standby personnel, directly involved in the emergency response[, except that costs for on-duty paid personnel who have responded to the emergency involving the discharge of hazardous materials during their assigned duty shift shall not be costs eligible for reimbursement].
3 Liability Concerning Hazardous Material Accidents. Amend RSA 154:8-a, II-a(f) to read as follows:
(f) If no appeal is filed within 30 days after receipt of the bill, the person responsible for the [equipment contamination] hazardous materials response shall be deemed to have waived all rights to appeal and shall be liable to the municipality, organization, or mutual aid district for the total amount billed.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2083
Amended 03/10/10
HB 1334 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for unpaid fines concerning hazardous materials accidents.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2010-0433h), will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on local revenues. There is no fiscal impact on state and county revenues or state, county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill requires an individual who causes or threatened to cause a discharge of hazardous material, to pay for court costs and legal fees in addition to any emergency response costs, which would increase municipal revenue. The Association states the number of court related actions caused by hazardous waste spills is unknown, and therefore the fiscal impact on municipalities cannot be determined.
The Department of Safety states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department.