HB 1577-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2613
\t09/04
HOUSE BILL\t1577-FN
AN ACT\trelative to alternatives to incarceration as a criminal penalty.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Kurk, Hills. 2
COMMITTEE:\tJudiciary
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill allows the prosecuting attorney to submit a written statement to the court explaining why incarceration is necessary and why alternatives to incarceration would be unsuitable in any misdemeanor or felony case for which incarceration is a possible penalty but which does not involve an act of violence or the threat of violence. The bill states that the court may not sentence the defendant to incarceration if the prosecuting attorney does not submit such a statement.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2613
\t09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to alternatives to incarceration as a criminal penalty.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Paragraph; Criminal Penalties; Alternatives to Incarceration. Amend RSA 625:9 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraph:
\t\tIX. In any misdemeanor or felony case for which incarceration is a possible penalty but which does not involve an act of violence or the threat of violence, the prosecuting attorney may submit a written statement to the court explaining why incarceration is necessary and why alternatives to incarceration would be unsuitable. If the prosecuting attorney does not submit such a statement, the court shall not sentence the defendant to incarceration. In this paragraph, “act of violence” or “threat of violence” shall have the same meaning as in paragraph VII of this section.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2613
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/30/15
HB 1577-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to alternatives to incarceration as a criminal penalty.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill, as introduced, will increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and in each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or on local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would add RSA 625:9, IX to provide that in any misdemeanor or felony case for which incarceration is a possible penalty but which does not involve violence or the threat of violence, the prosecutor may submit a written statement to the court explaining why incarceration is necessary and why alternatives would be unsuitable. In absence of such a statement, the defendant could not be sentenced to incarceration. The Branch states, since the proposed bill does not add any cases to the caseload of the Judicial Branch, the only fiscal impact would be additional clerical time necessary for processing the statements and the additional judge time needed to consider the statements from the prosecutor. The Branch assumes, since many criminal offenses do not involve violence or the threat of violence, the fiscal impact of the bill on the Judicial Branch would likely exceed $10,000 annually.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties assumes there would be additional costs related to attorney and staff time needed to write and file the statements. The Association states alternatives to incarceration vary greatly between counties.
The Judicial Council assumes this bill would not increase or decrease the number of misdemeanor or felony prosecutions brought each year. The Council assumes the bill would have a modest effect on the time and energy expended by defense counsel on behalf of an indigent accused client to the extent counsel will be obliged to review the written statements with their clients in connection with the representation. The Council states any small change in the amount of effort an attorney must expend for particular case would not be enough to result in a fiscal impact to the Judicial Council.
The Department of Justice states this bill would prohibit a judge from sentencing a defendant to a term of incarceration for any offense that does not involve an act of violence or the threat of violence, unless the prosecutor submits a written statement to the court explaining why incarceration is necessary and alternative to incarceration would not be suitable. The Department states that prosecutors from the Department of Justice regularly present such explanations orally during sentencing hearings and providing written statements could be done within the Department’s current budget.
The Department of Corrections states in cases where the defendant would be guilty of a misdemeanor, there would be no fiscal impact as any potential term of incarceration would be served at a county correctional facility. The Department does not have information on which to estimate the number of felonies where an individual may, or may not be sentenced to incarceration and therefore cannot determine the fiscal impact. The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 was $34,336. The average cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s Division of Field Services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 was $520.