Bill Text - HB1584 (2016)

(New Title) relative to the discharge of a person committed for nonpayment of a fine.


Revision: March 8, 2016, midnight

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HB 1584-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

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2016 SESSION

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HOUSE BILL\t1584-FN

 

AN ACT\trelative to the discharge of a person committed for nonpayment of a fine.

 

SPONSORS:\tRep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Welch, Rock. 13

 

COMMITTEE:\tCriminal Justice and Public Safety

 

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

 

\tThe bill increases the daily amount deducted for a person who is committed for nonpayment of a fine.

 

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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

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STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen

 

AN ACT\trelative to the discharge of a person committed for nonpayment of a fine.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

\t1  Discharge of Person Committed in Default of Payment of Fine.  Amend RSA 618:8 and 618:9 to read as follows:

\t618:8  At End of Term, or on Payment of Balance.  Any person sentenced conditionally to pay a fine or to be imprisoned for a term shall be discharged at the expiration of the term, and may be discharged at any time on payment of the balance of the fine, after deducting [$50] $125 for each day such person has been imprisoned under the sentence.

\t618:9  Committal for Nonpayment; Term.  Whenever a person is committed to a county correctional facility in default of payment of a fine imposed by a justice of a superior court or a district court, he or she shall be discharged from custody by the superintendent thereof at the expiration of a number of days after the date of his or her commitment equal to one day for each [$50] $125 of the fine so imposed.  The superintendent shall keep a record of all discharges made under the provisions of this section.

\t2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.

 

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmended 2/24/16

 

HB 1584-FN- FISCAL NOTE

 

AN ACT\t(New Title) relative to the discharge of a person committed for nonpayment of a fine.

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The New Hampshire Association of Counties and the Department of Corrections state this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2016-0100h), will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state and county expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter.  There is no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.

 

METHODOLOGY:

The New Hampshire Association of Counties states changing the per day incarceration fine amount from $50 to $125 has no direct impact on the counties as the increased amount more accurately reflects the daily costs to incarcerate an individual in a county facility. The Association states the daily cost to incarcerate an individual is $85 to $110. The Association states this bill will have an indeterminable impact on county expenditures as the Association is not able to determine the impact this bill will have on prosecutions and potential incarcerations.

 

The Department of Corrections does not have specific data to determine the fiscal impact, but 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.

 

The Judicial Branch, Department of Justice, and Judicial Council state this bill will not have a fiscal impact on their expenditures.