Revision: Dec. 6, 2019, 12:27 p.m.
HB 1615-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2400
04/10
HOUSE BILL 1615-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Flanagan, Hills. 26
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires all public libraries to conduct a criminal record check on any person under consideration by the library to participate in a library-sponsored event or program who will have contact with minors.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2400
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Public Libraries Criminal History Record Check. Amend RSA 202-A by inserting after section 25 the following new section:
202-A:26 Criminal History Record Check Required.
I. Every public library shall complete a criminal history record check on every person who is not an employee of the library, who is under consideration by the library to perform or present in a library-sponsored event or program, and who will have contact with minors.
II. Such person shall submit to the library trustees or other governing body a criminal history record release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history record check through its state record and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release a report of any misdemeanors and/or felony convictions and any charges pending disposition for any crimes to the library trustees or other governing body. The invitee shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern and a second set of fingerprints is necessary in order to complete the criminal history record check, the conditional offer to perform or present shall remain in effect. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the library trustees or other governing body may, in lieu of the criminal history record check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where such person has lived during the past 5 years. The library may require the invitee to bear the cost of the criminal history record check.
III. The library trustees or other governing body shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history record information received pursuant to this section. If the criminal history record information indicates no criminal record, the library trustees or other governing body shall destroy the information received immediately following review of the information. If the criminal history record information indicates that the invitee has been convicted of any crime under or has been charged pending disposition for a crime under paragraph V, the division of state police shall notify the library trustees or other governing body of any such charges pending disposition or convictions. The library trustees or other governing body shall destroy any criminal history record information that indicates a criminal record within 60 days of receiving such information.
IV. Any person who has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of any violation or
attempted violation of RSA 630:1; 630:1-a; 630:1-b; 630:2; 632-A:2; 632-A:3; 632-A:4; 633:1; 639:2;
639:3; 645:1, II or III; 645:2; 649-A:3; 649-A:3-a; 649-A:3-b; 649-B:3; or 649-B:4; or any violation or any attempted violation of RSA 650:2 where the act involves a child in material deemed obscene; in this state, or under any statute prohibiting the same conduct in another state, territory, or
possession of the United States, shall not be permitted to present or perform at the library.
V. Violations of this section shall be investigated by the state police. Information obtained through such investigations shall remain confidential and shall not be subject to RSA 91-A.
VI. A library trustee or other governing body member who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine of $500 to be collected by the commissioner of the department of safety and remitted to the police standards and training council.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
20-2400
12/5/19
HB 1615-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Criminal Records Check Fund (RSA 106-B:7, II) | |||
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LOCAL: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires public libraries to complete a criminal history record check on every person who is not an employee of the library who is being considered to present at a library sponsored event or program, and who will have contact with minors.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources indicated the New Hampshire State Library is not a public library. It is open to the public and provides services to the public but does not operate as a municipal library does and does not generally have programs where an outside speaker would address minors. Therefore there is no fiscal impact from this legislation.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association indicates that library invitees would most likely not pay the $25 fee for a criminal history record check by the New Hampshire Department of Safety, therefore it would be an additional cost to the municipality. Additional library staff and law enforcement time may be necessary but it is unknown if any additional personnel expense may be incurred as a result of the requirements of the bill. The number of required background checks is unknown at this time, so the estimated municipal expenditure is indeterminable. There will be no impact on municipal revenues.
The Department of Safety indicates the volume of background checks, the number and complexity of violations that are required to be investigated by the State Police and the number of potential fines collected by the Department and remitted to the Police Standards and Training Council are all unknown. Therefore the impact on revenues and expenses to the Department is indeterminable.
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 |
Violation Level Offense | $52 | $54 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
It is assumed this bill will not have a fiscal impact until FY 2021.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Department of Safety, New Hampshire Municipal Association, and Judicial Branch