Revision: June 1, 2023, 3:05 p.m.
SB 76-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
02/09/2023 0419s
4May2023... 1432h
2023 SESSION
23-0974
04/07
SENATE BILL 76-FN
AN ACT relative to reporting of medico-legal deaths.
SPONSORS: Sen. Bradley, Dist 3
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a criminal penalty for the failure to report certain deaths and discovery of bodies.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
02/09/2023 0419s
4May2023... 1432h 23-0974
04/07
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to reporting of medico-legal deaths.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Short title. This act shall be known as "Marilyn's law".
2 Criminal Code; Breaches of the Peace and Related Offenses; Abuse of Corpse RSA 644:7 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
644:7 Abuse of Corpse. For the purposes of this section, "corpse" includes any part of a human body in any stage of decomposition. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person knowingly fails to report the death of an individual or the finding of a corpse to a local law enforcement agency, or unlawfully removes, conceals, or destroys a corpse.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.
23-0974
Amended 5/5/23
SB 76-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2023-1432h)
AN ACT relative to reporting of medico-legal deaths.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
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 |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a criminal penalty for the failure to report certain deaths and discovery of
bodies. The bill contains a penalty 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 2023 | FY 2024 through 12/31/23 | FY 2024 (Starting 1/1/24 with repeal of Felonies First) | |||||
Violation and Misdemeanor Level Offense | $119 | $122 | $122 | |||||
Appeals | Varies | Varies | Varies | |||||
Judicial Council | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | ||||||
Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. | ||||||
Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor | $300/Case $70 administrative fee $100 incarceration fee (If applicable) | $300/Case $70 administrative fee $100 incarceration fee (If applicable) | ||||||
Assigned Counsel- Misdemeanor. Travel time to court does not count toward the cap. | $90/Hour up to $2,000 | $90/Hour up to $2,000 | ||||||
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. Historically, approximately 85% of the indigent defense caseload has been handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%). Beginning in March of 2021, the public defender program has had to close intake of new cases due to excessive caseloads. Due to these closures, the contract and assigned counsel program have had to absorb significantly more cases. The system is experiencing significant delays in appointing counsel and the costs of representation have increased due to travel time and multiple appointments. | ||||||||
NH Association of Counties | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | ||||||
County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | ||||||
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $105 to $125 | $105 to $125 |
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 may be able to absorb the cost within its existing budget. However, if the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs will increase by an indeterminable amount.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties