Revision: Dec. 1, 2022, 2:34 p.m.
2023 SESSION
23-0535.0
04/05
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0535.0
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, to any degree, 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. The race, ethnicity, color, national origin, nationality, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, socioeconomic status or disability of an individual shall not be a factor in determining the existence of probable cause to place an individual in custody, or arrest an individual, nor shall it be a factor in constituting a reasonable and articulable suspicion that an offense has been or is being committed so as to justify the detention of an individual or the investigatory stop of a motor vehicle.
III. Nothing in paragraphs I or II 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 specific suspect; and
(b) There exists trustworthy and reliable information, relevant to the locality and time frame, that links that person to an identified criminal incident or scheme.
106-N:3 Attorney General Review. The attorney general shall, within available resources, review the prevalence and disposition of traffic stops and complaints reported pursuant to this section. Not later than July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the office shall report the results of any such review, including any recommendations, to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the governor, and the state library.
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, 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.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.