Revision: Jan. 5, 2023, 4:48 p.m.
2023 SESSION
23-0791.0
06/04
SENATE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT relative to community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caregivers.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill adds "dependent child" and "primary caretaker of a dependent child" to sentencing definitions.
This bill requires sentencing courts make determinations for individually assessed sentences without imprisonment based on community rehabilitation and parent-child or dependent unity and support factors for primary caretakers of dependence.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0791.0
06/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caregivers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraphs; Sentences; Definitions. Amend RSA 651:62 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraphs:
II-a. "Dependent child" means a person who is less than 18 years of age.
II-b. "Primary caretaker of a dependent child" means a parent who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, and safety of a child prior to the parent's incarceration; or a person who has given birth to a child after or while awaiting her sentencing hearing and who expresses a willingness to assume responsibility for the housing, health, and safety of that child. A parent who, in the best interest of the child, has arranged for the temporary care of the child in the home of a relative or other responsible adult shall not for that reason be excluded from the definition of "primary caretaker of a dependent child."
2 New Paragraph; Sentences and Limitations. Amend RSA 651:2 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraph:
IX.(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, prior to the sentencing of a person convicted of an offense, the sentencing court shall determine if the applicant is not a danger to the community or any dependents and the convicted person is a primary caretaker of dependent child, elder, or person with disabilities. Upon such a determination by the court, the court shall impose an individually assessed sentence without imprisonment, based on community rehabilitation, and with a focus on parent-child or dependent unity and support. As part of the individually assessed sentence, the court may require the person to meet certain conditions that the court considers appropriate, including, but not limited to:
(1) Drug and alcohol treatment.
(2) Domestic violence education and prevention.
(3) Physical and sexual abuse counseling.
(4) Anger management.
(5) Vocational and educational services.
(6) Job training and placement.
(7) Affordable and safe housing assistance.
(8) Financial literacy.
(9) Parenting classes.
(10) Parenting classes.
(11) Family individual counseling.
(12) Family case management service.
(b) The court may require the person to appear in court at any time during the person's sentence to evaluate the person's progress in treatment or rehabilitation, or to determine if the person has violated any condition of the sentence. Upon appearance, the court may:
(1) Modify the conditions of the sentence;
(2) Decrease the duration of the sentence based on the person's successful advancement; or
(3) Sanction the person for each detected violation of any condition of the sentence imposed under subparagraph IX(a), including, but not limited to, requiring the person to serve a term of confinement within the range of the offense for which the person was originally convicted.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.