Revision: Dec. 18, 2015, midnight
\t \t\tHB 1614-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2642
\t04/09
HOUSE BILL\t1614-FN
AN ACT\trelative to the criminal penalty for prostitution.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Edwards, Hills. 11; Rep. Bouldin, Hills. 12; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr. 29
COMMITTEE:\tCriminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill legalizes consensual sex between consenting adults and makes any solicitation of sexual contact involving a person under 18 years of age or through the use of force or intimidation a felony.
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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2642
\t04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to the criminal penalty for prostitution.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Prostitution and Related Offenses. Amend RSA 645:2 to read as follows:
\t645:2 Prostitution and Related Offenses.
\t\tI. [A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person:
\t\t\t(a) Solicits, agrees to perform, or engages 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] solicits, agrees to perform, or engages 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, 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\t[III.] II. A person is guilty under this section regardless of the sex of the persons involved.
\t\t[IV.] III. It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge under [subparagraph I(a)] paragraph I 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\t[ V.] IV. 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)] paragraph I.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2642
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12/11/15
HB 1614-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to the criminal penalty for prostitution.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill, as introduced, will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state, county and local expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill makes changes to the criminal penalty for prostitution by removing the unspecified misdemeanor (which can be either class A misdemeanor or class B misdemeanor, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor) for engaging in prostitution among consenting adults and makes it a class B felony to solicit, agree to perform, or engage in sexual penetration in return for consideration with a person under the age of 18 or involving compelling another person by force or intimidation. The Branch states the net effect of the proposed bill will be to eliminate a number of unspecified misdemeanors prosecuted under RSA 645:2, I but potentially increase or decrease the number of felony prosecutions. The Branch is not able to estimate the fiscal impact of this bill as it has no information to determine how many misdemeanor charges will not be brought or the number of felony B charges that may or may not be brought.
The Judicial Council states that the decrease in misdemeanors cases will be offset by the increase in felony cases, therefore the Council anticipates this bill will have no impact on its expenditures.
The Judicial Branch, Department of Corrections, Judicial Council and New Hampshire Association of Counties have provided the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant with potential costs associated with the penalties contained in this bill. See table below for average cost information:
| FY 2017 | FY 2018 |
Judicial Branch |
|
|
Class B Misdemeanor | $50 | $53 |
Class A Misdemeanor | $70 | $74 |
Routine Criminal Felony Case | $449 | $470 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
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. | ||
Judicial Council |
|
|
Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. |
Contract Attorney – Felony | $756/Case | $756/Case |
Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor | $275/Case | $275/Case |
Assigned Counsel – Felony | $60/Hour up to $4,100 | $60/Hour up to $4,100 |
Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor | $60/Hour up to $1,400 | $60/Hour up to $1,400 |
It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%). | ||
Department of Corrections |
|
|
FY 2015 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $34,336 | $34,336 |
FY 2015 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $520 | $520 |
NH Association of Counties |
|
|
County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $85 to $110 | $85 to $110 |
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states the legalizing prostitution when the participants are consenting adults may result in a decrease in local expenditures if law enforcement expenditures decrease. The Association is not able to predict or estimate any potential reduction in expenditures.
The Department of Justice states these types of offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors and would not impact the Department. The Department would handle any appeals for a conviction related to the offense contained in this bill and absorb the cost within its existing budget.