HB 1613-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2544
\t08/04
HOUSE BILL\t1613-FN
AN ACT\trelative to criminal prosecution for those charged with prostitution.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Hoell, Merr. 23; Rep. Itse, Rock. 10; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf. 15; Rep. Abramson, Rock. 20
COMMITTEE:\tCriminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill makes it a misdemeanor to purchase or offer to purchase sexual contact.
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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2544
\t08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to criminal prosecution for those charged with prostitution.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Findings. The legislature finds that:
\t\tI. There is a growing epidemic of drug abuse in New Hampshire, heroin in particular, and the drug culture uses prostitution as a means to finance the addiction.
\t\tII. There is evidence that those who traffic young women and men use the fear of criminal arrest and prosecution as a means to emotionally control their victims.
\t\tIII. Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing problems facing our culture today and in most cases the prostitute is the victim of a greater crime of being trafficked.
\t\tIV. The act of exploiting young adults for money is the greater crime and the current statues do not differentiate between the those being exploited and those who are purchasing sex.
\t2 Prostitution and Related Offenses; Purchase or Offer to Purchase Sexual Contact. Amend RSA 645:2 to read as follows:
\t\tI. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person:
\t\t\t(a) [Solicits, agrees to perform, or engages in] pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay to engage in sexual contact as defined in RSA 632-A:1, IV or sexual penetration as defined in RSA 632-A:1, V[, in return for consideration]; or
\t\t\t(b) Induces or otherwise purposely causes another to violate subparagraph (a); or
\t\t\t(c) Transports another into or within this state with the purpose of promoting or facilitating such other in engaging in conduct in violation of subparagraph (a); or
\t\t\t(d) Not being a legal dependent incapable of self support, knowingly is supported in whole or in part by the proceeds of violation of subparagraph (a); or
\t\t\t(e) Knowingly permits a place under such person's control to be used for violation of subparagraph (a)[; or
\t\t\t(f) Pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay another person to engage in sexual contact as defined in RSA 632-A:1, IV or sexual penetration as defined in RSA 632-A:1, V, with the payor or with another person].
\t\tII. A person is guilty of a class B felony if such person violates the provisions of subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), or (e) of paragraph I and the violation:
\t\t\t(a) Involves another person who is under the age of 18; or
\t\t\t(b) Involved compelling another person by force or intimidation.
\t\tIII. A person is guilty under this section regardless of the sex of the persons involved.
\t\tIV. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge under [subparagraph I(a)] subparagraph I(b) that the defendant engaged in the conduct because he or she was the victim of trafficking in persons, as defined in RSA 633:7.
\t\tV. A person under 18 years of age shall not be subject to a juvenile delinquency proceeding under RSA 169-B or criminal prosecution for the commission of an offense under [subparagraph I(a)] subparagraph I(b).
\t3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2544
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12/11/15
HB 1613-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to criminal prosecution for those charged with prostitution.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Corrections and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill, as introduced, may decrease state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county or local revenues or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states the proposed bill would amend various sections of RSA 645:2, the prostitution statute. The Branch indicates the bill could reduce the number of unspecified misdemeanor and class B felony prosecutions. The Branch has no information on which to estimate how many fewer prosecutions may result from the proposed bill, but does have information on the average cost of processing such cases in the trial court:
| FY 2017 | FY 2018 |
Class B Misdemeanor | $50 | $53 |
Class A Misdemeanor | $70 | $74 |
Routine Criminal Felony Case | $449 | $470 |
It should be noted average case cost estimates for FY 2017 and FY 2018 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types.
The Judicial Council states this bill reorients the laws prohibiting prostitution to provide additional protection in the law to victims of human trafficking. The Council assumes the bill could decrease the number of misdemeanor criminal offenses, but not significantly. The Council indicates the Public Defender Program handles an average of 36 prostitution cases each year. Information is not available to identify how many, if any, of these cases involve someone who is a victim of human trafficking. The Council assumes the small decrease in misdemeanor cases would not affect the overall expenditures made for defense of the indigent accused.
The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not have information to predict the number of individuals who would be found guilty of a felony and sentenced to the state prison. The Department states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 12015 was $34,336 and the average cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s Division of Field Services was $520.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states any cost to the counties would be related to prosecution and potential incarceration. The Association is not able to determine the fiscal impact, but indicates county incarceration costs range from $85 to $110 per day and prosecution costs vary throughout the state and depend on the individual case.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states it cannot identify any impact on municipal revenues or expenditures associated with this bill.
The Department of Justice states prostitution offenses are typically prosecuted by local and county prosecutors and any appeals from such convictions could be handled by the Department of Justice within the Department’s current budget.