Revision: March 8, 2016, midnight
\t \t\tHB 605-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
6Jan2016... 2427h
2015 SESSION
\t15-0567
\t04/09
HOUSE BILL\t\t605-FN
AN ACT\trelative to mandatory minimum sentences.
COMMITTEE:\tCriminal Justice and Public Safety
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
\tThis bill eliminates certain mandatory minimum sentences.
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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
6Jan2016... 2427h\t15-0567
\t04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT\trelative to mandatory minimum sentences.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Pistols and Revolvers; Armed Career Criminals. Amend RSA 159:3-a, II to read as follows:
\t\tII. Any person who violates paragraph I shall be guilty of a felony and, notwithstanding RSA 651:2, II, shall be sentenced to a [minimum mandatory term of 10 years imprisonment and a] maximum term of imprisonment of not more than 40 years and shall be fined not more than $25,000.
\t2 Habitual Offenders; Penalty. Amend RSA 262:23 to read as follows:
\t262:23 Penalty.
\t\tI. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive any motor vehicle on the ways of this state while an order of the director or the court prohibiting such driving remains in effect. If any person found to be an habitual offender under the provisions of this chapter is convicted of driving a motor vehicle on the ways of this state while an order of the director or the court prohibiting such operation is in effect, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and sentenced, notwithstanding the provisions of RSA title LXII, to imprisonment for not [less than one year nor] more than 5 years. No [portion of the minimum mandatory sentence shall be suspended, and no] case brought to enforce this chapter shall be continued for sentencing; provided, however, that any sentence or part thereof imposed pursuant to this section may be suspended in cases in which the driving of a motor vehicle was necessitated by situations of apparent extreme emergency which required such operation to save life or limb. Any sentence of one year or less imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall be served in a county correctional facility. The sentencing court may order that any such offender may serve his or her sentence under home confinement pursuant to RSA 651:19 based on the rules and regulations of the county correctional facility where the sentence is to be served [for the minimum mandatory term or any portion thereof], provided the offender first serves 14 consecutive days of imprisonment prior to eligibility for home confinement. Habitual offenders shall only be eligible for the home confinement program once per lifetime. Any sentence of more than one year imposed pursuant to this paragraph shall be served in the state prison.
\t\tII. For the purpose of enforcing this section, in any case in which the accused is charged with driving a motor vehicle while his license, permit or privilege to drive is suspended or revoked, or is charged with driving without a license, the court before hearing such charge shall determine whether such person has been held an habitual offender and by reason of such holding is barred from driving a motor vehicle on the ways of this state. For the purposes of this section, in determining whether the person has been held an habitual offender and by reason of such holding is barred from driving a motor vehicle on the ways of this state, a certified copy of the individual’s motor vehicle record on file with the division shall be as competent evidence in any court within this state as the original record would be if produced by the director as legal custodian thereof.
\t\tIII. [Notwithstanding paragraph I, any person who qualifies under RSA 259:39 shall not be subject to the minimum mandatory provisions of paragraph I if, and only if, that person’s certification was not based on any conviction under RSA 265-A:2, I or any misdemeanor or felony motor vehicle conviction pursuant to RSA title XXI, and that person has not been convicted of any such offense, or any reasonably similar offense in any jurisdiction within the United States and Canada, since the date of the certification; provided, however, that any such person shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and may be sentenced to one year or less.] Any person incarcerated upon the effective date of this paragraph, pursuant to certification as an habitual offender under RSA 259:39, who does not have a conviction under RSA 265-A:2, I involving a vehicle or any misdemeanor or felony motor vehicle convictions pursuant to RSA title XXI, may apply immediately to the superior court for sentence review and reduction.
\t3 License Suspension and Revocation; Driving After Revocation or Suspension. Amend RSA 263:64, IV to read as follows:
\t\tIV. Any person who violates this section by driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle or by operating or attempting to operate an OHRV or snowmobile in this state during the period of suspension or revocation of his or her license or driving privilege for a violation of RSA 265:79 or an equivalent offense in another jurisdiction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who violates this section by driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle or by operating or attempting to operate an OHRV or snowmobile in this state during the period of suspension or revocation of his or her license or driving privilege for a violation of RSA 265-A:2, I, RSA 265-A:3, RSA 630:3, II, RSA 265:82, or RSA 265:82-a or an equivalent offense in another jurisdiction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not less than 7 consecutive 24-hour periods to be served within 6 months of the conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000, and shall have his or her license or privilege revoked for an additional year. [No portion of the minimum mandatory sentence of imprisonment shall be suspended by the court.] No case brought to enforce this paragraph shall be continued for sentencing for longer than 35 days. [No person serving the minimum mandatory sentence under this paragraph shall be discharged pursuant to authority granted under RSA 651:18, released pursuant to authority granted under RSA 651:19, or in any manner, except as provided in RSA 623:1, prevented from serving the full amount of such minimum mandatory sentence under any authority granted by title LXII or any other provision of law.]
\t4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLBAO
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t15-0567
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t01/26/15
HB 605-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\teliminating mandatory minimum sentences.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch and Department of Corrections state this bill, as introduced, will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state expenditures in FY 2016 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties was contacted on December 11, 2014 for a fiscal note worksheet, which the Association has not provided as of January 26, 2015. We are not able to determine if this bill will have a fiscal impact on county expenditures at this time.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill amends several RSAs to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for criminal offenses. The lack of a mandatory minimum sentence should not add to or reduce the number of criminal cases brought in ether the superior court or the district division of the circuit court. This bill could impact the number of cases that go to trial and or the length of those trials. The Branch is not able to determine a fiscal impact until a new weighted caseload study is completed to replace the last judicial needs assessment completed in 2005.
The Department of Corrections states it has no information to determine the fiscal impact of this bill. If the bill results in more individuals being incarcerated than it will increase costs, if it results in shorter sentences, there may be some cost savings. The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 was $33,540. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 was $535.
The Department of Justice states this bill will not increase or decrease the workload of the Department, therefore it will not have a fiscal impact.
The Judicial Council states this bill neither increases nor decreases the number criminal charges files by police and prosecutors, and would result in no change in the number of cases filed against criminal defendants. As a result, the Council assumes there would be no increase or decrease in the number of cases handled by the indigent defense delivery system to result in any change in fiscal impact.
Though the Legislative Budget Assistant Office is still awaiting information from the New Hampshire Association of Counties, it has received information from the Association in the past stating the average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county correctional facility is $35,000 a year and that the Association is not able to determine the impact on county prosecution costs.