Revision: April 15, 2013, midnight
HB 295 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
6Mar2013… 0450h
27Mar2013… 1021h
2013 SESSION
05/04
HOUSE BILL 295
AN ACT requiring criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
SPONSORS: Rep. LeBrun, Hills 32; Rep. Harding, Graf 13
COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development
This bill requires youth skill camp operators to certify to the department of environmental services that their employees and volunteers have undergone a criminal background check. The bill also establishes a recreation camp and youth skill camp fund and increases the license fee for recreation camps.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
6Mar2013… 0450h
27Mar2013… 1021h
13-0547
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT requiring criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Safety Regulations; Subdivision Heading Amended. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 485-A:23 to read as follows:
Safety Regulations for Camps, Pools, and Bathing Places
2 Definition of Recreation Camp and Youth Skill Camp. RSA 485-A:23 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
485-A:23 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Recreation camp” means any place set apart for recreational purposes for boys and girls. It shall not be construed to apply to private camps owned or leased for individual or family use, or to any camp operated for a period of less than 10 days in a year.
II. “Youth skill camp” means a nonprofit or for-profit program that lasts 8 hours or more that is operated by an entity, other than a municipality, for the purpose of teaching a skill to minors. Such camps include, but are not limited to, the teaching of sports, the arts, and scientific inquiry.
3 Recreation Camp Licensing and Youth Skill Camp Certification; Criminal Background Check Required. Amend RSA 485-A:24 and RSA 485-A:25 to read as follows:
485-A:24 Recreation Camp License; [Fee] Youth Skill Camp Certification of Criminal Background Check.
I. No person shall for profit or for charitable purposes operate any recreation camp, as defined in RSA 485-A:23, I, designed or intended as a vacation or recreation resort, without a license issued by the department. Said license is to be conditioned upon the maintenance of clean, healthful sanitary conditions and methods, as determined and approved by said department, good only for the calendar year in which it is issued and subject to suspension or revocation at any time for cause. The fee for such license shall be [$50 to] $200 which shall be paid into the [state treasury] recreation camp and youth skill camp fund established in RSA 485-A:24-a.
II.(a) No person or entity, other than a municipality, shall for profit or for charitable purposes operate any youth skill camp, as defined in RSA 485-A:23, II, without having performed background checks on the camp owners, all employees, and all volunteers at the camp and having certified to the department that no individual has a criminal conviction for any offense involving:
(1) Causing or threatening direct physical injury to any individual; or
(2) Causing or threatening harm of any nature to any child or children.
(b) Any person or entity required to perform background checks and provide certification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (a) shall pay a fee of $25 to the department. All such fees collected by the department shall be deposited into the recreation camp and youth skill camp fund established in RSA 485-A:24-a.
(c) Subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall not apply to any person or entity which owns property used to operate a youth skill camp or any buildings or structures on such property used in the operation of a youth skill camp, provided such person or entity obtains written certification signed by the youth skill camp operator stating that background checks in accordance with this paragraph have been completed.
485-A:25 Rulemaking.
I. The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to:
(a) Issuance of licenses to recreation camp operators under RSA 485-A:24, I.
(b) Requirements for performing criminal background checks at youth skill camps and certifying acceptable results.
(c) Water quality-related issues for the protection of persons using recreation camp facilities regulated under [this subdivision] RSA 485-A:24, I.
II. The commissioner, in consultation with the department of health and human services, shall adopt all other necessary rules under RSA 541-A, relative to public health and safety issues for the protection of persons [using camp facilities regulated under this subdivision] attending recreation camps regulated under RSA 485-A:24, I.
4 New Section; Water Pollution and Waste Disposal; Fund Established. Amend 485-A by inserting after section 24 the following new section:
485-A:24-a Recreation Camp and Youth Skill Camp Fund. There is established in the office of the state treasurer a nonlapsing fund to be known as the recreation camp and youth skill camp fund to be administered by the commissioner of the department of environmental services, and which shall be kept distinct and separate from all other funds. All moneys in the fund shall be continually appropriated to the commissioner of the department of environmental services for the purpose of paying costs associated with administering the provisions of RSA 485-A:24 and 485-A:25.
5 Safety Regulations; Injunction. Amend RSA 485-A:27 to read as follows:
485-A:27 Injunction. Any person operating or maintaining a [youth] recreation camp, youth skill camp, [or] public swimming pool, or bathing place without the same having been approved by the department may be enjoined by the superior court or any justice of the court upon petition brought by the attorney general.
6 New Subparagraph; Application of Receipts; Recreation Camp and Youth Skill Camp Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (310) the following new subparagraph:
(311) Moneys deposited into the recreation camp and youth skill camp fund established in RSA 485-A:24-a.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 30 days after its passage.
LBAO
13-0547
Revised 04/15/13
Amended 03/28/13
HB 295 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring criminal background checks for volunteers and employees at youth skill camps.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2013-1021h), will decrease state general fund revenue by $8,500, and increase state restricted revenue by $36,500 in FY 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue, or state, county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill creates a dedicated, non-lapsing Recreation Camp and Youth Skills Camp Fund (RCYSF) and directs fee revenue derived from the regulation of recreation camps currently allocated to the general fund to the RCYSF. The proposed legislation also raises the annual recreation camp license fee from $50 to $200. The Department states that in 2012, there were 170 recreation camps that paid the annual $50 fee, resulting in total general fund revenue of $8,500. The Department states the bill’s allocation of this revenue source to the newly created RCYSF will decrease state general fund revenues by $8,500 in FY 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter and, since the bill increases the fee from $50 to $200, will increase state restricted fund revenue by $34,000 per year. In addition, the bill defines a “youth skills camp,” and imposes a $25 annual fee on this previously unregulated camp type in order to fund criminal background checks on camp operators. The Department states that since these camps are currently unregulated, it is uncertain how many camps will be required to pay the $25 fee. However, assuming a population of 100 youth skills camps, the Department estimates this component of the bill will increase state restricted revenue by $2,500 in FY 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter.
Under RSA 485-A:24, the Department is charged with ensuring recreation camps maintain clean, healthful sanitary conditions. The Department states that currently, its recreation camp inspections are funded entirely by a federal grant for administration of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Under the bill, recreation camp inspections as well as the new youth skills camp operator background investigations would be funded out of the RCYSF. The Department states that an existing employee will be used to perform additional responsibilities imposed by the bill.