HB199: establishing new special justice positions in the Manchester, Concord, and Nashua district courts and making an appropriation therefor.

HB 199-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0146

09/10

HOUSE BILL 199-FN-A

AN ACT establishing new special justice positions in the Manchester, Concord, and Nashua district courts and making an appropriation therefor.

SPONSORS: Rep. Lasky, Hills 65; Rep. Clemons, Hills 62

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes new full-time special justice positions in the Manchester, Concord, and Nashua district courts. This bill makes an appropriation for salaries and benefits for the positions.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0146

09/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT establishing new special justice positions in the Manchester, Concord, and Nashua district courts and making an appropriation therefor.

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

1 Manchester, Concord, and Nashua District Courts; New Special Justice Positions. Amend RSA 502-A:3-a to read as follows:

502-A:3-a Associate Justices, Special Justices, Manchester, Nashua and Concord District Courts. The Manchester District Court, the Nashua District Court and the Concord District Court, in addition to the justice, shall each have a full-time associate justice and a full-time special justice appointed and commissioned by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, as prescribed by the constitution, who shall have the same qualifications and powers as prescribed for the justice.

2 Appropriation; Judicial Branch. There is appropriated the sum of $366,345 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004 and the sum of $366,345 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005 to the judicial branch, for the purpose of paying salaries and benefits for the 3 special justice positions established in section 1 of this act. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

LBAO

03-0146

1/8/03

HB 199-FN-A - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT establishing new special justice positions in the Manchester, Concord, and Nashua district courts and making an appropriation therefor.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch states this bill will increase state expenditures by $249,894 in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

This bill appropriates $366,345 in FY 2004 and $366,345 in FY 2005 from the general fund to the Judicial Branch for the purposes of this act.

METHODOLOGY:

The Branch states this bill establishes the positions of special justice of the Manchester, Nashua, and Concord District Courts as full-time positions. The full-time position of special justice of the Concord District Court and the necessary funds already exist, therefor, there will be no fiscal impact on the Concord District Court as a result of this bill. The Branch indicated the additional full-time judges in Nashua and Manchester would replace existing per diem judge time in those courts. The Branch further assumed, since the bill contains an appropriation, any per diem judges time saved in Nashua and Manchester would be redistributed throughout the state in order to reclaim the 10% reduction in part-time judge time instituted in the FY 2002-03 biennium.

The cost of a full-time special justice is $105,887, plus 18% benefits, for a total annual cost of $124,947. Manchester, Nashua, and Concord have the office space, furniture, and equipment already in place for the part-time judges, therefor, no additional costs will be necessary for these items when converting the part-time special justice to full-time. Assuming no salary or benefit increases, the Branch estimates this bill will increase state expenditures by $124,947 for each special justice in Nashua and Manchester for a total cost of $249,894 per year, beginning in FY 2004.