Revision: Dec. 14, 2011, midnight
HB 1494-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/03
HOUSE BILL 1494-FN
AN ACT relative to verification of immigration status of all persons arrested or detained by law enforcement officers.
SPONSORS: Rep. Duarte, Rock 1; Rep. Rappaport, Coos 1; Rep. Cox, Merr 6; Rep. Tasker, Rock 1; Rep. Reagan, Rock 1; Rep. Renzullo, Hills 27; Rep. Pitre, Straf 3; Rep. Itse, Rock 9
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires state and local law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of the detainee and, if necessary, transfer custody of the detainee to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2244
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to verification of immigration status of all persons arrested or detained by law enforcement officers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Police Officers; Watchmen. Amend RSA 105:12 to read as follows:
105:12 Powers. Every police officer and watchman may arrest any person whom he or she shall find committing any disorder, disturbance, crime, or offense, or such as are strolling about the streets at unreasonable hours, who refuse to give an account, or are reasonably suspected of giving a false account, of their business or design, or who can give no account of the occasion of their being abroad. At the time of the arrest, the police officer or watchman shall attempt to verify the detainee’s immigration status, and if necessary, transfer custody of the detainee to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further proceedings.
2 State Police; Authority and Duties of Police Employees. Amend RSA 106-B:12 to read as follows:
106-B:12 Authority and Duties of Police Employees. Police employees shall be ex-officiis constables throughout the state, shall patrol the highways, enforce the highway traffic laws and regulations, enforce the motor vehicle laws relative thereto and enforce regulations relative to the transportation of hazardous materials, pursuant to [RSA 106-A:18 and] RSA 106-B:15, and the director, division of state police, shall report to the director, division of motor vehicles, all violations of and prosecutions under the motor vehicle laws. Police employees shall have general power to enforce all criminal laws of the state and to serve criminal processes and make arrests, under proper warrants, in all counties. At the time of the arrest, the police employee shall attempt to verify the detainee’s immigration status, and if necessary, transfer custody of the detainee to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further proceedings. They shall not serve civil processes. No police employee shall act, be used or called upon for service within any town in any industrial dispute unless actual violence has occurred therein, and then only upon order of the governor. When any police employee shall apprehend any person who has committed or attempted to commit a felony the director shall immediately make a report to the attorney and the sheriff of the county in which the offense was, or was suspected of being, committed and such cases shall be investigated and prosecuted by said county officials with the cooperation of said police employees.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
12-2244
11/09/11
HB 1494-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to verification of immigration status of all persons arrested or detained by law enforcement officers.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will increase state and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenue, or county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill requires state and local law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of all individuals detained or arrested, and if necessary, to transfer custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further proceedings. Both entities state to the extent that immigration status is not currently obtained and there is a cost associated with such determinations, certain state and local law enforcement agencies will experience increased costs. Neither entity possesses the information necessary to predict the amount of any associated expenditure increase.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill only changes the statutes associated with state and local law enforcement, so county sheriffs will not experience any cost increases associated with this bill.