Revision: Jan. 15, 2010, midnight
SB 471-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
04/03
SENATE BILL 471-FN
AN ACT relative to felonious sexual assault and sexual assault.
SPONSORS: Sen. DeVries, Dist 18
This bill adds a circumstance under which a person may be charged with felonious sexual assault and sexual assault.
This bill was requested by the attorney general.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2838
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to felonious sexual assault and sexual assault.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:3, IV to read as follows:
IV.(a) Engages in sexual contact with the person, or causes the person to engage in sexual contact on himself or herself in the presence of the actor, when the actor is in a position of authority over the person and uses that authority to coerce the victim to submit under any of the following circumstances:
[(a)] (1) When the actor has direct supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim by virtue of the victim being incarcerated in a correctional institution, the secure psychiatric unit, or juvenile detention facility where the actor is employed; or
[(b)] (2) When the actor is a probation or parole officer or a juvenile probation and parole officer who has direct supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim while the victim is on parole or probation or under juvenile probation.
(b) Consent of the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in this paragraph [IV] shall not be considered a defense.
(c) Notwithstanding RSA 632-A:1, IV, in this paragraph “sexual contact” means the intentional touching of the person’s sexual or intimate parts, including genitalia, anus, breasts, and buttocks.
2 Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:4, III to read as follows:
III.(a) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if such person engages in sexual contact or sexual penetration with another person, or causes the person to engage in sexual contact on himself or herself in the presence of the actor, when the actor is in a position of authority over the person under any of the following circumstances:
[(a)] (1) When the actor has direct supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim by virtue of the victim being incarcerated in a correctional institution, the secure psychiatric unit, or juvenile detention facility where the actor is employed; or
[(b)] (2) When the actor is a probation or parole officer or a juvenile probation and parole officer who has direct supervisory or disciplinary authority over the victim while the victim is on parole or probation or under juvenile probation.
(b) Consent of the victim under any of the circumstances set forth in this paragraph [III] shall not be considered a defense.
(c) Notwithstanding RSA 632-A:1, IV, in this paragraph “sexual contact” means the intentional touching of the person’s sexual or intimate parts, including genitalia, anus, breasts, and buttocks.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
LBAO
10-2838
01/04/10
SB 471-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to felonious sexual assault and sexual assault.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Corrections and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 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 will add to both the felonious sexual assault statute and sexual assault statute, the circumstance of one causing a person to engage in sexual contact on himself or herself in the presence of the actor where the actor is in the position of authority over the person. If felonious sexual assault, this added circumstance is a class B felony and if sexual assault, this added circumstance is an unspecified misdemeanor. Misdemeanor charges can be either a class A or class B with the presumption they will be class B in accordance with RSA 625:9,IV. However, the Branch has no information to estimate how many new misdemeanors or felonies would be brought as a result of this bill nor if the misdemeanors would be class A or class B misdemeanors. The Branch states the cost of a class A misdemeanor case is $51.14 and the cost of a class B misdemeanor case is $36.89 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. The cost of a complex felony offense, which is how a class B felony offense for violation of the felonious sexual assault statute would be classified, is $661.17 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. The possibility of appeals increases the likelihood the fiscal impact on the Branch will exceed $10,000.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures. The Council states if the misdemeanor offense results in a right counsel, there will be increased expenditures. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor or $2,282.50 for the felony charge of felonious sexual assault 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.
The Department of Corrections states this bill may increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount, but is unable to predict the number of individuals that might be impacted. The Department states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 was $33,110. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 was $744.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent this bill results in an increase in the number of individuals 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, prosecuted or incarcerated as a result of this bill. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $35,342 a year.
The Department of Justice states an individual charged with this offense would typically be a public official and the Department’s public integrity unit would handle the prosecution. The Department estimates this bill would result in less than three prosecutions a year and any fiscal impact could be absorbed by the Department.