HB396: relative to penalties for tampering with or desecrating a burial site.

HB 396-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0372

04/09

HOUSE BILL 396-FN

AN ACT relative to penalties for tampering with or desecrating a burial site.

SPONSORS: Rep. Morris, Rock 84; Rep. Haytayan, Hills 46; Rep. Wall, Straf 72; Sen. Sapareto, Dist 19

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill removes the purposely or knowingly element relative to the crime of interference with a cemetery or burial ground.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0372

04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to penalties for tampering with or desecrating a burial site.

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

1 Interference with Cemetery or Burial Ground; Criminal Penalties. Amend RSA 635:6, I to read as follows:

I. No person, without the written authorization of the owner of a burial plot, or the lineal descendant of the deceased, if such owner or lineal descendant is known, or the written authorization of the governing board of the municipality in which the burial plot lies, if the owner or lineal descendant is unknown, shall:

(a) [Purposely or knowingly] Destroy, mutilate, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, or other structure, or any portion or fragment thereof, placed or designed for a memorial of the dead, or any fence, railing, gate, curb, or plot delineator or other enclosure for the burial of the dead.

(b) [Purposely or knowingly] Disturb the contents of any tomb or grave in any cemetery or burial ground.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

LBAO

03-0372

1/16/03

HB 396-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to penalties for tampering with or desecrating a burial site.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Council, Department of Corrections, and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may increase state and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Council states this bill amends the existing class B felony by removing the language "purposely or knowingly" which are elements that were previously part of the statute. It is possible that the actor/defendant in such a case may more than likely than in some other situations be a juvenile and the compensation rates differ in those cases. For the purpose of determining the fiscal impact, it is assumed that any cases arising from the enactment of this law for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will, in the first instance, be handled by the public defender or contract attorneys who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $687.50 for a class B felony case and $250 for a juvenile case. If the case is a juvenile case, in addition to the initial disposition, there may also be a number of juvenile review proceedings which follow the disposition that are compensated under the contract flat fee system at a rate of $187.50 for each such review hearing. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $3,000 for a felony and $1,200 for a juvenile case will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or "services other than counsel" are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases or trials which may arise as a result of the passage of this legislation, and whether the actor/defendant will be charged as an adult or juvenile, therefor, they are unable to estimate the dollar amount of the anticipated costs of such representation.

The Department of Corrections currently does not have any inmates serving time for violation of RSA 635:6. The Department does not expect more than one person per year would be sentenced to the State Prison as a result of this bill. The average cost of incarceration is $24,866 per inmate per year.

LBAO

03-0372

1/16/03

Page 2

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states if this bill becomes law, anyone convicted of destroying, mutilating, injuring, or removing any tomb, or disturbing the contents of any tomb or grave in any cemetery or burial ground, without specific written authorization, would be guilty of a class B felony and shall be ordered by the Court to make restitution for damages resulting from the offense and for replacement of removed items. Presumably, this allows the owner of the property, including a municipality, to recover any financial loss incurred from the vandalism. It would also hold accountable anyone who inadvertently damages a grave, which might result in costs to a municipality if a municipal employee or a cemetery sexton mistakenly injures a gravestone in the course of his or her work or employment. As a result, there is the potential for increased municipal costs, as well as increased municipal reimbursement for damages. The Association cannot determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.

The Department of Justice and Judicial Branch state this bill will have no fiscal impact on their departments.