HB1351: relative to penalties for acts committed during a riot.

HB 1351-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2100

04/01

HOUSE BILL 1351-FN

AN ACT relative to penalties for acts committed during a riot.

SPONSORS: Rep. Easson, Straf 68; Rep. K. Gilbert, Rock 82; Rep. Gonzalez, Hills 49; Rep. Albert, Straf 67

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill creates additional penalties for certain acts committed during a riot situation.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2100

04/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to penalties for acts committed during a riot.

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

1 New Paragraph; Breach of Peace; Riot. Amend RSA 644:1 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V.(a) Notwithstanding paragraph IV, any person who is convicted of an assault or attempted assault against another person, arson, criminal mischief, or disorderly conduct during a situation which would constitute a violation of paragraph I shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to not less than 30 days imprisonment, no portion of which shall be suspended. Any student at an institution within the university system of New Hampshire who is convicted under this paragraph shall, in addition to the penalties listed in this paragraph, be expelled from all institutions within the university system of New Hampshire.

(b) Any person who commits an act of animal cruelty against any animal used at the scene by law enforcement personnel or other emergency personnel during a situation which would constitute a violation of paragraph I shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to not less than 60 days imprisonment.

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

LBAO

03-2100

7/22/03

HB 1351-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to penalties for acts committed during a riot.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and the Association of Counties have determined this bill will increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2005 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county and local revenues.

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Branch states this bill amends RSA 644:1, which deals with the crime of riot. Specifically, this bill adds a section V to RSA 644:1 that provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 days if the conduct involved "an assault or attempted assault against another person", and of 60 days if the conduct involved "an act of animal cruelty against any animal used at the scene by law enforcement personnel or other emergency personnel." In addition, any student of the University System convicted under the paragraph would be expelled from all institutions within the University System. This bill presupposes a violation of RSA 644:1, I, for the provisions of the new section V to become applicable. Judicial Branch records show that under RSA 644:1 from 1998 through 2002, the district courts annually averaged twenty-five cases and the superior court nine. Thus, there is a very limited class of cases to which this new section could apply. The judicial branch is unable to determine how many of this average of thirty-four cases of riot annually involve assault or attempted assault against a person or a covered act of animal cruelty. Since this bill adds no new cases to the courts and on the assumption, that few, if any cases would come under its provisions, its fiscal impact on the judicial branch should be minimal. Two caveats are in order, however, regarding this conclusion. First, bills creating minimum mandatory sentences generally limit the ability of the state and the defendant to enter into a plea bargain. The result is more cases going to jury trials. It is impossible to quantify this effect, but to the extent that the minimum mandatory sentence results in more jury trials, there could be a fiscal impact on the judicial branch. Second, it is possible that a major incident could occur at or near a campus of the University System such as occurred this past spring in Durham. This bill may result in law enforcement charging offenses under this new section V to obtain the more serious punishment provided

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7/22/03

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therein. In that circumstance, this bill would have a fiscal impact on the judicial branch in an amount in excess of the $10,000 threshold.

The Judicial Council states this bill adds two new criminal events with penalties at the misdemeanor level. Any person convicted of an assault or attempted assault against another person during a situation which will constitute a violation of paragraph I (RSA 644:1) shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and sentenced to not less than 30 days. In addition, any student at an institution within the University System of NH who is convicted under this paragraph shall be expelled from all institutions within the University System of NH. A second new offense provides that any person who commits an act of animal cruelty against any animal used at the scene by law enforcement or other emergency personnel during a situation which would constitute a violation of paragraph I, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to not less than 60 days of imprisonment. For the purposes of this analysis the Council assumes that an individual may commit either one or both of these offenses. Otherwise, the usual assumptions will apply to the analysis of the cost impacts of this legislation. It is assumed that the individual so charged has been found eligible for representation as an indigent defendant. For the purposes of this fiscal note, the Council assumes the individual charged is an adult, although a juvenile may also be charged with this new offense, but different rates of compensation and total costs to the system will differ if the case is processed through juvenile court. The court will appoint in the first instance either a public defender or a contract attorney either of whom will be paid at the fixed contract rate of $250 per misdemeanor charged. If an assigned counsel must be used either due to conflict of interest or for reasons of caseload limitations, 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 motions for "services other than counsel" are approved as a necessary part of the defense of a case, the fee for such services would also be payable from indigent defense funds. The Council stated it is not possible to predict the number of cases which may result from the enactment of this legislation, therefor, they are unable to determine the fiscal impact of this bill.

The Department of Justice stated they seldom become involved in the prosecution of breach of the peace and it is assumed the Department would continue not to be involved. Therefor, the fiscal impact on the department would be negligible.

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The Association of the Counties stated that a new misdemeanor creates a cost for the county correctional facilities. The exact impact on county expenditures will depend on the number of individuals sentenced, as well as those who are incarcerated pre-trial in a county facility. The average annual cost for counties to incarcerate inmates in $21,634.