Revision: Jan. 13, 2016, midnight
\t \t\tSB 485-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2875
\t09/10
SENATE BILL\t485-FN-A
AN ACT\testablishing a state grant program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid crisis and making an appropriation therefor.
SPONSORS:\tSen. Forrester, Dist 2; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Morse, Dist 22; Rep. Gallagher, Belk. 4; Rep. Suzanne Smith, Graf. 8; Rep. Vadney, Belk. 2; Rep. D. Brown, Graf. 16
COMMITTEE:\tFinance
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill requires the commissioner of safety to establish a state grant program within the department of safety, division of state police, to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid crisis. The bill establishes a special fund and makes an appropriation for purposes of this program.
\tThis bill also makes an appropriation to the department of safety, division of state police, for the acquisition and equipping of new state police cruisers.
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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2875
\t09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\testablishing a state grant program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid crisis and making an appropriation therefor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Legislative Findings. The legislature finds:
\t\tI. The abuse of heroin and other opioids including fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin, has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with overdose deaths having increased fourfold from 1999 to 2010.
\t\tII. From 2010 through October 21, 2015 drug overdoses in New Hampshire have claimed 1,322 lives, of which 315 were related to heroin and 377 to fentanyl. Heroin-related hospital emergency department visits in New Hampshire during the first 9 months of 2015 increased by 70.4 percent over the same period the previous year and between July and September 2015, the anti-opioid drug Naloxone was administered by emergency responders to prevent an opioid death 866 times.
\t\tIII. Drug-related deaths currently are eclipsing by far the number of deaths in highway fatalities. At the same time, however, there was a 21.43 percent increase in persons killed in highway crashes as of mid-October 2015 compared with the same period in 2014 and nearly 500 additional serious but not fatal injury crashes, with significant numbers involving drugged driving. Armed robberies and burglaries and other street crimes involving drugs have become a weekly occurrence and every county in the state has been affected.
\t\tIV. Increased information sharing and more visible police presence on the streets and highways along with intensive enforcement of the traffic laws is strongly correlated to the deterrence of crime, cutting off the supply of drugs, apprehension of criminals, and a reduction in highway deaths.
\t\tV. This act is intended to make additional resources available to provide for more, better, and smarter law enforcement approaches to the current crisis.
\t2 New Subdivision; Substance Abuse Enforcement Program. Amend RSA 21-P by inserting after section 65 the following new subdivision:
Substance Abuse Enforcement Program
\t21-P:66 Substance Abuse Enforcement Program.
\t\tI. The commissioner of safety shall establish a substance abuse enforcement program which shall make grants available to county, local, and appropriate state law enforcement agencies to increase visible police presence on streets and highways and in public spaces, promote the sharing of information, and support enhanced drug investigative procedures, with particular emphasis on interdicting and disrupting the flow of illicit drugs being transported into and through the state for eventual sale and illegal use.
\t\tII. The commissioner shall establish protocols and conditions for increased state police patrols and conditions for eligibility for grants to local, county, and state law enforcement agencies. The protocols and conditions shall be based on the principles of intelligence-driven, problem-oriented policing, using statistics and information to place additional police patrol and investigative presence at the locations, times, and places where there have been a significant convergence of motor vehicle crashes, crimes, and drug use, or in corridors known to be used by drug dealers for shipments of illegal drugs into the state. The protocols and conditions shall:
\t\t\t(a) Require dedicated patrol units relieved of taking calls for service absent an emergency.
\t\t\t(b) Insure that the officers assigned to such patrol units have been trained in the concept of data-driven policing and have an appropriate knowledge of the requirements of the state and federal constitutions.
\t\t\t(c) Include an emphasis on gaining the respect and approval of the public for the work of the police.
\t\tIII. The program shall include periodic reporting to ensure that measurable results are being obtained.
\t21-P:67 Substance Abuse Enforcement Fund.
\t\tI. There is hereby established the substance abuse enforcement fund. This fund shall be used for the purposes of the substance abuse enforcement program to support coordinated law enforcement activities, including but not limited to:
\t\t\t(a) New Hampshire state police personnel, equipment, and other costs when working in conjunction with county and local law enforcement in localities experiencing a high volume of substance abuse related activities;
\t\t\t(b) Department of safety personnel, equipment, and other costs to increase the capacity and efficiency of the state crime laboratory in processing evidence in opioid-related cases; and
\t\t\t(c) Grants to county and local law enforcement for overtime personnel costs in localities experiencing a high volume of substance abuse related activities.
\t\tII. The substance abuse enforcement fund shall be a nonlapsing fund administered by the commissioner of the department of safety. The fund shall consist of an initial appropriation of $2,250,000, and the commissioner may also accept and expend gifts, grants, and donations from any state or federal source for deposit into the fund. The fund shall be continually appropriated and expended at the discretion of the commissioner of the department of safety, in furtherance of the purposes of the fund. The commissioner shall create an accounting unit and expenditure classes for the fund as the commissioner deems necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes of the fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 9:16-a and the provisions of 2015, 276:198, the commissioner is authorized to transfer funds within and among the expenditure classes in furtherance of the purposes of the fund.
\t21-P:68 Rulemaking. The commissioner of safety shall adopt rules to implement this subdivision. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, such rules shall be exempt from the provisions of RSA 541-A.
\t3 New Subparagraph; Administrative Procedures Act; Exceptions. Amend RSA 541-A:21, I by inserting after subparagraph (hh) the following new subparagraph:
\t\t\t(ii) RSA 21-P:68, relative to the substance abuse enforcement fund.
\t4 New Subparagraph; Special Fund; Substance Abuse Enforcement Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, l(b) by inserting after subparagraph (331) the following new subparagraph:
\t\t\t\t(332) Moneys deposited in the substance abuse enforcement fund established under RSA 21-P:67.
\t5 Appropriation; Department of Safety. The sum of $750,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 and the sum of $1,500,00 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017 are hereby appropriated to the department of safety, for the purpose of funding the substance abuse enforcement program and fund. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
\t6 Department of Safety, Division of State Police; Appropriation.
\t\tI. There is hereby appropriated to the department of safety, division of state police, accounting unit 02-23-23-234015-4003, class 030, in addition to any other funds appropriated to the department of safety, the sum of $1,200,000 for the biennium ending June 30, 2017 for the purpose of the acquisition and equipping of new state police cruisers to replace those that have repairs exceeding the value of the vehicle.
\t\tII. The source of funds for the appropriation made in paragraph I shall be $300,000 as a charge against the highway fund, $274,200 as a charge against the turnpike fund, and $625,800 from general funds. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said general fund sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
\t7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2875
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12/31/15
SB 485-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\testablishing a state grant program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid crisis and making an appropriation therefor.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill, as introduced, will increase state expenditures and may increase county and local revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on state revenue.
This bill establishes a non-lapsing continually dedicated fund, with an initial general fund appropriation of $2,250,000 ($750,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 and $1,500,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017) to the Department of Safety, for the purpose of substance abuse enforcement, as set forth by this act.
This bill appropriates $625,800 from the general fund, $330,000 from the highway fund, and $274,200 from the turnpike fund, for a total of $1,200,000 in the biennium ending June 30, 2017 to the Department of Safety for the purpose of acquiring and equipping new state police cruisers, as set forth by this act.
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a grant program to assist state, county, and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the state’s opioid crisis, establishes a dedicated fund for the program with an initial general fund appropriation of $2,250,000 ($750,000 in FY 2016 and $1,500,000 in FY 2017), and provides a total appropriation of $1,200,000 ($625,800 from the general fund, $330,000 from the highway fund, and $274,200 from the turnpike fund) for the biennium ending June 30, 2017 for the purchase of state police cruisers.
Substance Abuse Enforcement Program
The Department of Safety states this bill would establish a substance abuse enforcement program with an associated dedicated fund. This bill appropriates an initial $2,250,000 from the general fund into the dedicated fund and allows for the acceptance of grants, gifts, and donations from any state or federal source. This bill sets forth purposes of this fund, which includes but is not limited to, providing for state police personnel, equipment, and other costs, including the state crime laboratory, and grants to political subdivisions for overtime personnel costs in localities experiencing a high volume of substance abuse related activities. The Department is unable to estimate at this time the amount of any additional revenue/funding sources may become available or the amount or timing of any program expenditures. However, for informational purposes, the Department states the average state police detail rate, which is representative of potential hourly rates for having local law enforcement work in an overtime capacity, is $64.03/hour.
State Police Cruisers
This bill appropriates $625,800 from the general fund, $330,000 from the highway fund, and $274,200 from the turnpike fund), for a total of $1,200,000, for the biennium ending June 30, 2017, for the acquisition and equipping of state police cruisers. The Department of Safety states this would allow for the purchase of 27 new cruisers, which have been deemed necessary based on the Division of State Police’s vehicle replacement plan.