HB1214: relative to the penalty for filing an erroneous default budget.

HB 1214-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2004

08/09

HOUSE BILL 1214-FN

AN ACT relative to the penalty for filing an erroneous default budget.

SPONSORS: Rep. Putnam, Rock 79; Rep. J. Flanders, Rock 79; Rep. Gilman, Graf 9

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

ANALYSIS

This bill makes filing an erroneous default budget a misdemeanor.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2004

08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to the penalty for filing an erroneous default budget.

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

1 Erroneous Default Budget; Penalties. Amend RSA 40:13, X to read as follows:

X. If no operating budget article is adopted, the local political subdivision either shall be deemed to have approved the same appropriations as contained in the operating budget authorized for the previous year, reduced and increased, as the case may be, by debt service, contracts, and other obligations previously incurred or mandated by law, or reduced by one-time expenditures contained in the operating budget, or the governing body may hold a special meeting pursuant to paragraph XVI to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only; provided that RSA 31:5 and RSA 197:3 shall not apply to such a special meeting. If no operating budget article is adopted the estimated revenues shall nevertheless be deemed to have been approved. For the purposes of this paragraph, one-time expenditures shall be appropriations not likely to recur in the succeeding budget, as determined by the governing body of the local political subdivision. Whoever files a false or erroneous default budget shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2005.

LBAO

03-2004

6/16/03

HB 1214-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to the penalty for filing an erroneous default budget.

FISCAL IMPACT:

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

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Branch states this bill amends statute governing ballot voting in SB 2 towns to provide that whoever files a false or erroneous default budget shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. This would be a misdemeanor with a very small class of potential offenders; namely the selectmen and budget committee members in SB 2 towns. As such, the Judicial Branch anticipates few, if any, prosecutions under this bill, and therefor a minimal fiscal impact.

The Judicial Council states this bill establishes a criminal penalty of a misdemeanor for filing an erroneous default budget. The Council assumes that the individual so charged has been determined to be indigent, at which time the court will proceed to appoint an attorney to represent the defendant. If a public defender or contract attorney is appointed to the case the fixed contract rate of $250 will apply. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the $60 per hour rate will apply to the case, with a fee cap of $1,000. The fee cap may be waived upon motion filed in advance with the court. If any "services other than counsel" are filed as a necessary part of the defense case, they would be payable from Indigent Defense funds. Since it is not possible to predict the number of cases that may result for the enactment of this new misdemeanor statute, the Council is not able to estimate the potential cost.

The Department of Justice stated they seldom become involved in the procedures relative to town meetings, and it is assumed that we would continue not to be involved. Therefor, the financial impact on the agency would be negligible.

The Association of Counties stated this bill creates a new misdemeanor. The penalty creates a cost for the county correctional facility. The impact on the county is directly related to the

LBAO

03-2004

6/16/03

Page 2

number of individuals sentenced, as well as those who are incarcerated pre-trial in a county facility. The average cost for counties to incarcerate inmates is $21,634.

The Municipal Association has stated this bill will have no fiscal impact on cities and towns.