Revision: Feb. 28, 2024, 9:22 a.m.
HB 596-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
01/03/2024 0011s
02/15/2024 0571s
2023 SESSION
23-0535
04/05
HOUSE BILL 596-FN
AN ACT prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.
SPONSORS: Rep. Meuse, Rock. 37; Rep. DiLorenzo, Rock. 10; Rep. Hamblet, Rock. 26; Rep. Telerski, Hills. 11; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This bill prohibit the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and sentencing.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
01/03/2024 0011s
02/15/2024 0571s 23-0535
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Chapter; Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement Activities Prohibited. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 106-M the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 106-N
RACIAL PROFILING IN LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED
106-N:1 Definition. In this chapter, “profiling" shall mean the practice of relying solely on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, nationality, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, socioeconomic status, or disability in:
I. Selecting a person to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities, including interviews, detentions, traffic stops, pedestrian stops, stop and frisks and other types of bodily searches, or searches of personal or real property; or
II. Determining the scope, substance, or duration of investigation or law enforcement activity to which a person will be subjected.
106-N:2 Prohibited Acts.
I. No state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or officer, or other state agency with the authority to make arrests, shall engage in racial profiling.
II. Nothing in paragraph I shall be interpreted to prohibit a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency from relying on physical descriptions, including sex, race, ethnicity, color, and disability, to select a person to subject to investigatory activity or determine the scope, substance, or duration of investigation when:
(a) Seeking to apprehend a suspect in response to a specific complaint or articulable basis that a crime has been committed; and
(b) There exists trustworthy and reliable information, relevant to the locality and time frame, that links a person to an identified criminal incident or scheme.
2 New Section; Sentences; Racial Disparity in Sentencing Prohibited. Amend RSA 651 by inserting after section 7 the following new section:
651:7-a Racial Disparity in Sentencing Prohibited.
I. Sentences imposed shall be proportional to the nature of the crime committed. Neither the defendant's race nor ethnicity shall be a factor considered in determining a sentence in a criminal case.
II. The commissioner of the department of corrections shall collect data on the race and ethnicity of defendants sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more since 2000 and shall produce an annual report beginning September 1, 2023 which shall be submitted to the attorney general, the supreme court and the chairpersons of the senate judiciary committee and house criminal justice and public safety committee.
III. The report shall be available to the public, upon request, within 10 days of submission.
IV. The report shall include:
(a) Research and gather relevant statistical data and other information concerning the existence and impact of disparate treatment of nonwhite persons in the facilities under the control of the commissioner of the department of corrections. The statistical data shall include but not be limited to:
(1) The number of nonwhite persons serving a sentence for any period of time in the facility during the year.
(2) The percentage of nonwhite and white persons serving a sentence for any period of time in the facility during the year.
(3) The crime or crimes for which each of the white and nonwhite persons are serving a sentence.
(4) The length of the sentence for each of the nonwhite and white persons serving a sentence for any period of time in the facility during the year.
(5) The ages and genders of nonwhite and white persons serving a sentence for any period of time in the facility during the year.
(b) Identify the nonwhite and white persons by number only, not by name.
V. In this section, "nonwhite person" means a person of African, Latino, American Indian, Pacific Islander, Arab, Alaska native, or Asian descent.
3 New Paragraph; County Department of Corrections; Superintendent; General Duties and Powers. Amend RSA 30-B:4 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
VII. The superintendent of each county house of corrections shall collect data on the race and ethnicity of defendants sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more since 2000 and shall produce an annual report containing the same data required under RSA 651:7-a, IV beginning November 1, 2024 which shall be submitted to the attorney general, the supreme court, and the chairpersons of the senate judiciary committee and house criminal justice and public safety committee.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
23-0535
Amended 2/21/24
HB 596-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2024-0571s)
AN ACT prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | ||||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] N/A • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] N/A | ||||||
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Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
County Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
County Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | ||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill defines and prohibits profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing. This bill also requires the Department of Corrections and each county house of corrections to collect and report data on the race and ethnicity of defendants sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more since 2000.
The Department of Corrections states it would incur no fiscal impact as a result of this bill.
The Department of Safety states it is unknown if this bill would have any impact on the Division of State Police and notes it is currently a federal civil rights violation for law enforcement to racially profile.
The Department of Justice states that policies produced by the Division of State Police, and advocated for in the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Manual, establish the expectation that law enforcement will engage in fair and impartial policing and that their decisions will not be influenced solely by a person’s protected characteristics. Further, the Department states this bill does not provide for a right of action or require it to investigate or prosecute violations of the statute, nor does it increase or decrease the liability faced by police under federal rights of action. Accordingly, the Department anticipates that there will be little to no impact on its budget.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill would require inmate booking software updates, additional administrative support, and additional work for software vendors/users to generate the annual report, to which may result in an indeterminable increase in county expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Corrections, Department of Safety, Department of Justice, and New Hampshire Association of Counties