Bill Text - SB315 (2024)

Relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes.


Revision: Dec. 18, 2023, 10:47 a.m.

SB 315-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2024 SESSION

24-2927

10/05

 

SENATE BILL 315-FN-LOCAL

 

AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Simpson, Rock. 33; Rep. Harriott-Gathright, Hills. 10

 

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires a law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire to collect and report information concerning bias crimes as prescribed by the division of state police.

 

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2927

10/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

 

AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Paragraph; State Police; Crime Reporting System; Bias Crimes.  Amend RSA 106-B:14-c by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III.(a) A law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire shall separately collect information concerning bias crimes in the manner and form prescribed by the division of state police.

(b) At least 2 times each year, a law enforcement agency shall submit information collected on bias crimes to the department of safety, division of state police.  Information submitted and reports issued under this paragraph shall be in conformity with guidelines described in paragraph I, and shall:

(1) Be separated in reports on the basis of whether it is an alleged crime, a charged crime, or a crime for which a conviction has been obtained; and

(2) Be divided in reports on the basis of whether, in the opinion of the reporting individual and the data collectors, bias was the primary motivation for the crime or only incidental to the crime.

(c)  A report under this paragraph submitted to the persons and agencies described in paragraph I may not contain the name of a person who:

(1) Committed or allegedly committed a bias crime; or

(2) Was the victim or the alleged victim of a bias crime.

(d) Information collected, submitted, and reported under this paragraph must be consistent with guidelines established for the acquisition, preservation, and exchange of identification records and information by the Attorney General of the United States or the Federal Bureau of Investigation under 28 U.S.C. 534 and the Hate Crime Statistics Act, as amended (28 U.S.C. 534 note).

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBA

24-2927

Revised 12/18/23

 

SB 315-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

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] See Below

Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] N/A

 

Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

 

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

County Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

County Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Local Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Local Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill, assumed effective in FY 2025, requires a law enforcement agency operating within the State to collect and report information concerning the bias crimes as prescribed by the Division of State Police (NHSP).  Currently, NHSP only captures whether an incident simply has bias motivation.  The Department of Safety states this bill requires more information and will require additional data fields to track, aggregate and report through the lifecycle of a case rather than just the onset of the case, which will involve additional staff time.  The Department states this bill will require software programming changes to its state records management system and will also change its contracted state repository, which submits these types of statistics to the FBI. The Department has not provided a cost estimate (or range of potential cost) attributable to this bill.

 

It is possible this bill may result in additional costs to county and local law enforcement agencies to comply, however, those costs are indeterminable and would vary from agency to agency.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Safety, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association