HB 1604-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/03
HOUSE BILL 1604-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for motor vehicle accidents involving death or serious bodily injury to a pedestrian.
SPONSORS: Rep. Duarte, Rock 1; Rep. Mirski, Graf 10; Rep. Tamburello, Rock 3; Rep. Rappaport, Coos 1; Rep. Reagan, Rock 1; Rep. G. Johnsen, Ches 3; Rep. Cox, Merr 6; Rep. Pitre, Straf 3
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill amends the penalty for vehicular assault.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2042
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to penalties for motor vehicle accidents involving death or serious bodily injury to a pedestrian.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Vehicular Assault. Amend RSA 265:79-a to read as follows:
265:79-a Vehicular Assault. Any person who, without intent, causes death or serious bodily injury as defined in RSA 625:11, VI to another while using a vessel or propelled vehicle as defined in RSA 637:9, III shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a class B felony for a second or subsequent offense, where such person’s unlawful operation of the propelled vehicle or vessel causes or materially contributes to the collision. Evidence that the driver violated any of the rules of the road shall be prima facie evidence that the driver caused or materially contributed to the collision.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.
LBAO
12-2042
12/15/11
HB 1604-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for motor vehicle accidents involving death or serious bodily injury to a pedestrian.
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 2013 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 increases the penalty for a second or subsequent offense of vehicular assault from a class A misdemeanor to a class B felony. The Branch has no information to estimate how many charges would be affected by this bill but it does assume that its per case costs would increase by the difference between processing class A misdemeanors and class B felonies and it has information on the cost for processing both types of cases. All costs are estimated based on case weight information from the last needs assessment completed in 2005. The Branch states a class A misdemeanor will cost $59.11 per case in FY 2013 and $61.31 per case in FY 2014 and each year thereafter. The Branch states the felony in this statute 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. Therefore, the cost increase per case from going from a class A misdemeanor to a class B felony is $330.73 ($389.84 - $59.11) in FY 2013 and $340.17 ($401.48 – 61.31) in FY 2014 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 to the extent charges are increased from class A misdemeanors to class B felonies, this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures. The cost increase would equal the difference in cost between a class A misdemeanor and class B felony, although the Council cannot estimate the number of charges affected. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fees of $275 per misdemeanor and $756.25 per felony are charged by a public defender or contract attorney, for a per case difference of $481.25 ($756.25 - $275). If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour with caps of $1,400 for a misdemeanor and $4,100 for a felony, for a maximum per case difference of $2,700 ($4,100 - $1,400). 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 capped at $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 modified by this bill is typically prosecuted by the county attorney. The Department states there may be an indeterminable increase in expenditures related to appeals for this type of case. The Department has no information to estimate how many appeals may result due to this bill to determine the fiscal impact.
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.