Revision: Nov. 17, 2023, 2:45 p.m.
Rep. Roy, Rock. 31
Rep. Harriott-Gathright, Hills. 10
November 14, 2023
2023-2460h
09/10
Amendment to HB 318-FN-A
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT relative to bail commissioners and making appropriations to the judicial branch.
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Bail and Recognizances; Bail Commissioners; Fees. Amend RSA 597:20 to read as follows:
597:20 Fees. The bail commissioners in such cases shall be entitled to a fee of [$40] $50. However, clerks of court or members of their staffs who are bail commissioners shall be entitled to collect such fee only when called while not on active duty. In jurisdictions where the bail commissioner is a full-time salaried police officer, constable, sheriff, deputy sheriff, state police employee, or anyone else authorized to execute police powers, such person shall not receive the fee established in this section, but instead such amount shall be remitted to the town or city in which the district court is situated. If the defendant is indigent, the fee shall be waived.
2 Bail and Recognizances; General Provisions; Determination of Indigence and Payment of Bail Commissioner Fee. Amend RSA 597:2-b to read as follows:
597:2-b Determination of Indigence and Payment of Bail Commissioner Fee.
I. The arresting officer, at the point of arrest, shall inform the offender of the availability of the services of the bail commissioner. [If the offender elects to utilize the bail commissioner's services and is not indigent, the offender shall pay the bail commissioner's fee directly to the bail commissioner. If the offender elects to utilize the services of the bail commissioner, but claims indigence, the court shall, to the extent of available funding, utilize all possible means to pay the bail commissioner's fee, and shall include written evidence of fee payment in the offender's case file.] In any case where the offender has been arrested for a crime of violence against an individual person, including any act of stalking or criminal threatening, and the bail commissioner determines that the offender may be released pending arraignment, the arresting agency shall attempt to contact the alleged victim for at least one hour to inform the alleged victim of the pending release and the conditions of bail. This contact may be either in-person or by telephone. If the alleged victim has not been reached within one hour of the bail commissioner's setting of the terms and conditions of release, the police shall immediately provide notice to the alleged victim through either telephonic voicemail or written notice left at the alleged victim's last known residence. The police shall document all efforts to contact the alleged victim and the time of the notification provided under this section. The offender shall not be released until the alleged victim has been notified, or one hour has elapsed from the time the bail commissioner set the terms and conditions of release, whichever is earlier.
I-a. On a monthly basis, the court shall pay each bail commissioner the fees as authorized by RSA 597:20 that each bail commissioner is entitled to from the previous month.
II. The court shall develop uniform criteria to evaluate and determine whether an offender is indigent or not indigent for the purpose of the offender's ability to [pay] repay the bail commissioner's fee. Based on the criteria, the court shall render a finding of indigent or not indigent for the purpose of the offender's ability to [pay] repay the bail commissioner's fee.
III. If the court finds that the offender is not indigent for the purpose of [paying] repaying the bail commissioner's fee, the court shall order that the offender [shall] reimburse the court for payment of the bail commissioner's fee. The court may extend the time period for such repayment in its discretion to allow the offender reasonable time to make the repayment, except that in no case shall the time period exceed one year from the date the case was closed.
IV. If the court finds that the offender is indigent for the purpose of [paying] repaying the bail commissioner's fee, the offender shall not be liable to pay the fee.
3 Bail and Recognizances; Bail Commissioners; Term and Identification Card. Amend RSA 597:17 to read as follows:
597:17 Term and Identification Card.
I. Bail commissioners shall be commissioned for 5 years and continue in office until their successors shall have qualified. A bail commissioner's appointment may be revoked for cause at any time during the term of his or her appointment by the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designee.
II. The chief justice of the superior court or the administrative judge of [the superior court or] the circuit court shall issue an identification card to each qualified bail commissioner in the state. The identification card shall be made of a durable material similar to that of a driver's license, and shall contain a photograph of the bail commissioner, the terms and dates of the bail commissioner's appointment, and any other information deemed necessary by the chief justice of the superior court or the administrative judge of the circuit court. The chief justice of the superior court or the administrative judge of the circuit court may enter into an agreement, through an interagency memorandum of understanding or any other appropriate mechanism, with the department of safety, division of motor vehicles to facilitate the production and issuance of the identification card.
4 Bail and Recognizances; Bail Commissioners; Educational Requirements for Bail Commissioners. RSA 597:18-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
597:18-a Educational Requirements for Bail Commissioners.
I. The chief magistrate, in consultation with the chief justice of the superior court and the administrative judge of the circuit court, shall develop an education program to ensure that new bail commissioners are adequately trained and that existing bail commissioners have current information regarding the status of the laws affecting bail commissioners and the powers and duties of bail commissioners. This education program shall include the laws specific to bail and the conditions that may be imposed by the bail commissioners.
II. Upon appointment, each bail commissioner shall receive at least 16 hours of training. Training may be in person, remote, or on the job training by shadowing another bail commissioner for a period of time as determined by the courts.
III. Each bail commissioner shall undergo 8 hours of annual training that shall include any changes to the law made by the general court or as a result of court decisions. An updated copy of all laws concerning bail commissioners and a copy of the latest edition of the Bail Commissioner's Handbook shall be provided to each bail commissioner at this annual training.
IV. Bail commissioners shall be paid for time spent during training as follows:
(a) Bail commissioners shall be paid a $50 stipend for each 8 hour block of training. Any in person training requiring less that 8 hours shall nonetheless be paid for a minimum 8 hour block. Remote training less than 8 hours may be prorated based upon the $50 per 8 hour block standard.
(b) If the training for newly appointed bail commissioners exceeds 16 hours, the newly appointed bail commissioners shall not be paid for more than 2, 8-hour blocks.
5 New Section; Bail and Recognizances; Bail Commissioners; Duties. Amend RSA 597 by inserting after section 18-a the following new section:
597:18-b Duties.
I. The bail commissioners shall provide to any person bailed by the bail commissioner under this chapter information on local services that are available to the person relating to homelessness, hunger, mental health, and substance use issues.
II. The bail commissioners shall notify any person bailed by the bail commissioners under this chapter that any violations of a protective order are non-bailable.
I. The judicial branch shall determine the amount of funding needed in order to pay for the fees for bail commissioners and to establish the identification cards as directed in sections 1-4 of this act, and that amount is hereby appropriated in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024 to the judicial branch.
II. The judicial branch shall determine the amount of funding needed to establish 15 new magistrates who will serve at such locations as the chief justice of the supreme court designates and who shall be empowered to perform certain judicial functions relative to bail, arraignments, and warrants, and that amount is hereby appropriated in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024 to the judicial branch.
III. The appropriations in paragraphs I and II shall not lapse. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
I. Section 6 of this act shall take effect June 30, 2024.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
2023-2460h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Amends the bail commissioner's fee to $50.
II. Makes various changes relative to the bailing of offenders by bail commissioners.
III. Allows the chief justice of the supreme court or designee to revoke the appointment of a bail commissioner for cause.
IV. Provides for new requirements for the issuance of identification cards to bail commissioners.
V. Provides new provisions regarding the training and duties of bail commissioners.
VI. Makes certain appropriations to the judicial branch.