Revision: Dec. 2, 2019, 10:31 a.m.
HB 1149-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2176
04/10
HOUSE BILL 1149-FN
AN ACT relative to child obscenity.
SPONSORS: Rep. Panasiti, Hills. 22; Rep. Lang, Belk. 4
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a criminal penalty for child obscenity.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2176
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to child obscenity.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subparagraph; Obscene Matter; Offense for Child Obscenity. Amend RSA 650:2, I by inserting after subparagraph (e) the following new subparagraph:
(f) Produces, possesses, displays, or distributes in any form any material containing or depicting a child under 13 years of age who is partially clothed, where the material is unrelated to the sale of a commercially available legal product and is used for purely prurient purposes. In this subparagraph, "commercially available" means available for sale to the general public and "purely prurient purposes" means for the specific purpose of sexual gratification or sexual arousal obtained from viewing material prohibited under this chapter.
2 Obscene Matter; Offenses. Amend the introductory paragraph in RSA 650:2, II to read as follows:
II. A person who commits any of the acts specified in [subparagraphs (a) through (e) of] paragraph I with knowledge that such act involves a child in material deemed obscene pursuant to this chapter is guilty of:
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.
20-2176
10/14/19
HB 1149-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to child obscenity.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.
Judicial Branch | FY 2021 | FY 2022 |
Class B Misdemeanor | $54 | $56 |
Class A Misdemeanor | $77 | $79 |
Simple Criminal Case | $300 | $314 |
Routine Criminal Felony Case | $484 | $498 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 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. An unspecified misdemeanor can be either class A or class B, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor. | ||
Judicial Council |
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Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. |
Contract Attorney – Felony | $825/Case | $825/Case |
Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor | $300/Case | $300/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 |
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FY 2019 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $44,400 | $44,400 |
FY 2019 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate | $5,071 | $5,071 |
FY 2019 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $576 | $576 |
NH Association of Counties |
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County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $105 to $120 | $105 to $120 |
Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties