HB 1514-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 1514-FN
AN ACT establishing the crime of oppressing an inhabitant’s free exercise of rights.
SPONSORS: Rep. L. Christiansen, Hills 27
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill establishes the crime of oppression of free exercise of rights.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2287
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT establishing the crime of oppressing an inhabitant’s free exercise of rights.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Chapter; Oppression of Free Exercise of Rights. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 640 the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 640-A
OPPRESSION OF FREE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS
640-A:1 Oppression of Free Exercise of Rights.
I. A public servant acting under color of state authority, by force or threat, who knowingly injures, intimidates, or obstructs, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or obstruct, or who oppresses any inhabitant in the exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the constitution or laws of New Hampshire or the Constitution or laws of the United States of America shall be guilty of a class B felony, or a class A felony, if the injury, intimidation, or obstruction of the right or privilege results in bodily injury.
II. A public servant acting under color of state authority shall be guilty of a class B felony if he or she unlawfully restricts an inhabitant’s freedom of action to the inhabitant’s detriment by:
(a) Committing a criminal act against an inhabitant;
(b) Accusing an inhabitant of a criminal act;
(c) Exposing any secret which would tend to subject an inhabitant to hatred, ridicule, or contempt, or impair the inhabitant’s credit or business reputation; or
(d) Taking or withholding action as a public servant or causing a public servant to take or withhold action.
III. Any public servant as defined in RSA 640:2 who is convicted under this section shall be ipso facto removed from public office and shall be prohibited from holding any public office in this state in the future.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
12-2287
12/07/11
HB 1514-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing the crime of oppressing an inhabitant’s free exercise of rights.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 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 adds a new criminal offense dealing with the oppression of free exercise of rights with violations of this new offense being punishable as a class B felony, unless the violation resulted in bodily injury, then it would be treated as a class A felony. The Branch has no information to estimate how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in the bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. The Branch states violations of this new offense, whether a class A felony or class B felony would be classified as an average routine felony and treated as an average routine criminal case in the Superior Court. The Branch states an average routine criminal case will cost $389.84 per case in FY 2013, and $401.48 per case in FY 2014 and each year thereafter based case weight information from the last needs assessment completed in 2005. 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 an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $756.25 per felony 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 $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 Justice states the criminal offense created by the bill may increase the Department’s expenditures by an indeterminable amount. The Department states the proposed language could potentially cover a wide range of conduct which may increase the number of complaints that the Department will have to investigate and potentially investigate.
The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not have sufficient detail to predict the number of individuals who would be subject to this legislation. The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $32,492. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $659.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent more individuals are charged, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration in a county correctional facility, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be charged, convicted or incarcerated as a result of this bill to determine an exact fiscal impact. The average annual cost to incarcerate an individual in a county correctional facility is approximately $35,000. There is no impact on county revenue.