Revision: Jan. 5, 2012, midnight
HB 475-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
05/01
HOUSE BILL 475-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties under the consumer protection act.
SPONSORS: Rep. Marshall Quandt, Rock 13; Rep. Shuler, Rock 11; Rep. Serlin, Rock 16; Rep. G. Hopper, Hills 7; Rep. Weyler, Rock 8; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill increases the penalty for violations of the consumer protection act by an individual.
This bill is a request of the department of justice.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0612
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to penalties under the consumer protection act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Consumer Protection Act; Penalties; Violation by a Natural Person Involving Goods and Services of a Specified Amount. Amend RSA 358-A:6, I and II to read as follows:
I. Any person convicted of violating RSA 358-A:2 hereof shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.
I-a. Any natural person convicted of a violation of RSA 358-A:2 shall be guilty of a class B felony if the value of the goods or services offered or sold is more than $1,000 but not more than $1,500, and a class A felony if the value of the goods or services offered or sold exceeds $1,500.
II. Any person who violates the terms of an injunction issued under RSA 358-A:4, III, shall be guilty of a [misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a] class B felony [if any other person]. For the purposes of this section, the court issuing said injunction shall retain jurisdiction.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0612
01/20/11
HB 475-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties under the consumer protection act.
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 2012 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will amend criminal penalties for violations of the consumer protection act found in RSA 358-A:6, I and II, and add a higher level penalty in RSA 358-A:6, I-a for violations where the value of the goods or services exceed certain thresholds. The Branch states the change to RSA 358-A:6, I would change the penalty from an unspecified misdemeanor, which can be treated as a class B or class A misdemeanor, to a class A misdemeanor. The Branch states there would be no change in cost for those unspecified misdemeanors that would have been treated as a class A misdemeanor. The Branch states a class B misdemeanor costs $43.58 in FY 2012 and $44.34 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter and a class A misdemeanor costs $60.03 in FY 2012 and $60.88 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The increase in costs is the difference between the class A and class B misdemeanor, which is $16.45 in FY 2012 and $16.54 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter.
The change to RSA 358-A:6, II would change an unspecified misdemeanor to a class B felony. This felony would be treated as a routine felony which costs $394.13 in FY 2012 and $399.33 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The increase in cost is the difference between the class B misdemeanor or class A misdemeanor, depending on which misdemeanor would have been applied. This would result in increases ranging from $350.55 in FY 2012 and $354.99 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter if the charge increased from a class B misdemeanor to class B felony or $334.10 in FY 2012 and $338.45 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter if the charge increased from a class A misdemeanor to a class B felony.
Lastly the bill adds a class B felony for violating RSA 358:2 if the value of goods or services is between $1,000 and $1,500 and a class A felony if the value of goods and services exceeds $1,500. A class A felony costs $350.55 in FY 2012 and $354.99 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter and a class B felony costs $334.10 in FY 2012 and $338.45 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. However, the possibility of appeals reduces the number of cases needed for a fiscal impact to the Branch in excess of $10,000.
The Judicial Council states the increased penalties of 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 $275 per misdemeanor or $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 $1,400 for a misdemeanor charge and $4,100 for a felony charge. For those cases that would have been treated as a class A misdemeanor and will be treated as a felony, the increase in cost is the difference of the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor to $756.25 per felony, or an increase of $481.25 per case for public defenders or contract attorneys. The difference for assigned counsel would be the cap increasing from $1,400 to $4,100. 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 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 Department states this bill may increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount, but is unable to predict the number of individuals that might be impacted.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states it is unable to determine if this bill will increase or decrease the number of individuals that may be convicted and detained in a county correctional facility, thus is not able to determine the fiscal impact on county expenditures. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $35,000 a year.
The Department of Justice states increasing the penalty will not have a fiscal impact on the Department.