Revision: March 15, 2022, 4:56 p.m.
HB 1476-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
15Mar2022... 0895h
2022 SESSION
22-2058
04/11
HOUSE BILL 1476-FN
AN ACT relative to persons arrested while out on bail.
SPONSORS: Rep. Berry, Hills. 44; Rep. Shaw, Hills. 16; Rep. Alexander Jr., Hills. 6; Rep. Ankarberg, Straf. 10; Rep. Hamer, Hills. 17; Rep. Burt, Hills. 39; Rep. Long, Hills. 10; Rep. McLean, Hills. 44
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This bill provides that a person who commits an offense while on bail shall be detained without bail pending a hearing before a judge.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15Mar2022... 0895h 22-2058
04/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT relative to persons arrested while out on bail.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Bail and Recognizances; Release of a Defendant Pending Trial. Amend RSA 597:2, VIII to read as follows:
VIII.(a) A person charged with an offense who is, or was at the time the offense was committed, on release pending trial for a felony or misdemeanor under federal or state law, release pending imposition or execution of sentence, appeal of sentence or conviction, or completion of sentence, for any offense under federal or state law; or probation or parole for any offense under federal or state law, except as provided in RSA 597:1-d, III[, may]; or a person charged with a class B misdemeanor, third or subsequent offense, shall be detained for a period of not more than [72] 36 hours from the time of his or her arrest, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays[. The law enforcement agency making the arrest shall notify the appropriate court, probation or parole official, or federal, state, or local law enforcement official. Upon such notice, the court shall direct the clerk to notify by telephone the department of corrections, division of field services, of the pending bail hearing. If the department fails or declines to take the person into custody during that period, the person shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of law governing release pending trial. Probationers and parolees who are arrested and fail to advise their supervisory probation officer or parole officer in accordance with the conditions of probations and parole may be subject to arrest and detention as probation and parole violators.] and, notwithstanding paragraph III, shall be held in preventive detention without bail pending a hearing before a judge. The court shall not order personal recognizance bail in such cases.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
22-2058
Redraft 11/23/21
HB 1476-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to persons arrested while out on bail.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
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 provides that a person who commits an offense while on bail shall be detained without
bail pending a hearing before a judge.
The Judicial Branch indicates this bill would strike the discretionary 72 hour detention; notice to body responsible for the released person to provide an opportunity to take the person into custody, and replace it with a provision that requires the person be held in preventive detention without bail pending a hearing for not more than 72 hours. It would further prohibit personal recognizance bail. The Branch does not track the number of persons who are on release and who are subsequently arrested for committing a new crime and cannot therefore estimate the number of new bail hearings that would occur. In addition, the Branch does not track how many persons are taken into custody by probation or parole officials or police officials under the current system who would not be notified of the arrest and pending bail hearing under the proposal in this bill. It is also unknown what impact the prohibition on personal recognizance bail would have on the number of appeals that may be taken from bail decisions, but the Judicial Branch assumes there would be an increase in bail appeal hearings filed in Superior Court.
With the inclusion of all misdemeanor charges and the likely increase in appeals of bail decisions to the Superior Court, the Judicial Branch assumes this bill will likely result in a substantial increase in bail hearings in both the Superior (for felonies and bail decision appeals) and Circuit Courts (for misdemeanor bail hearings). This will likely result in the need for additional judicial and clerical resources in both court systems to manage the increase in hearings and coordination of hearing times with the county jails.
The Department of Corrections is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it is not able to predict the number of individuals who would be subject to this bill. The bill has the potential to increase the number of individuals returned to a Department of Corrections facility on parole violations, as the probation/parole officer will no longer be able to make the determination of whether or not a person is returned to the facility. Based on data from the last 13 months, there was an average of 42 parole violators and 6 probation violators per month. The Department states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 was $54,386. The average cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s Division of Field Services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 was $603.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill would increase costs for the county houses of corrections as they would hold people longer. The Association is unable to predict how many crimes will be committed while a person is out on bail, and therefore is unable to determine the cost to county government.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states municipalities may save officer time and pay as they would no longer need to call bail commissioners and wait for their response, but they also may need to transfer additional arrestees to the county house of correction. The Association indicates it is unlikely that municipalities would incur significant costs as a result of this change in process.
It is assumed that any fiscal impact would occur after FY 2022.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties and New Hampshire Municipal Association