HB1371: prohibiting the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones.

HB 1371-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2123

04/01

HOUSE BILL 1371-FN

AN ACT prohibiting the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones.

SPONSORS: Rep. Heon, Straf 67; Rep. Twombly, Straf 67; Sen. Green, Dist 6

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill prohibits the sale or possession of pocket knives in a safe school zone.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2123

04/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT prohibiting the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones.

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

1 Pistols and Revolvers; Prohibition on Certain Weapons. Amend RSA 159:16 to read as follows:

159:16 Carrying or Selling Weapons. Whoever, except as provided by the laws of this state, sells, has in his or her possession with intent to sell, or carries on his or her person any stiletto, switch knife, pocket knife, blackjack, dagger, dirk-knife, slung shot or metallic knuckles shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and such weapon or articles so carried by him or her shall be confiscated to the use of the state.

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

LBAO

03-2123

7/22/03

HB 1371-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT prohibiting the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council and the Association of Counties have stated 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 stated this bill amends RSA 159: 16, the statute governing carrying or selling weapons, to add the sale or possession of pocket knives to the list of prohibited weapons which is a misdemeanor. The stated intent of this bill is to "prohibit the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones." Pursuant to the safe school zone statute, RSA 193-D, the unlawful sale or possession of a dangerous weapon under RSA 159 occurring in a safe school zone carries with it an extended term of imprisonment as provided in RSA 651:6. Nevertheless, the amendment to RSA 159:16 in this bill makes the sale or possession of a pocket knife, no matter where occurring, a misdemeanor. Were this to be vigorously enforced, the fiscal impact to the judicial branch could be extreme. In 2002, the Judicial Branch alone, collected 17,897 knives at security screening stations. Many of these would be classified as pocket knives, therefor, whoever brought one of these into a court building could be subject to a misdemeanor prosecution. Similar numbers would probably result from security screening locations other than the courts. While the exact calculation of the potential fiscal impact of this bill would be difficult to make, suffice it to say that in its current form it has the potential to add thousands of cases to the district courts for a potential significant fiscal impact.

LBAO

03-2123

7/22/03

Page 2

The Judicial Council states this bill prohibits the sale or possession of pocket knives in safe school zones. It provides that any person who has in his/her possession with intent to sell, or carries on his/her person any pocket knife (added to the existing list of prohibited items) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and such weapon or articles so carried shall be confiscated to the use of the state. Any crime committed within a safe school zone carries double the penalty. For the purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that the most likely person charged will be a juvenile, although it is also possible that the statute could apply to an adult who carries a pocket knife onto school grounds. Juvenile cases are compensated under the flat fee system at the same rate of compensation as an adult misdemeanor case. However, there are usually multiple review hearings associated with a juvenile delinquency case that could significantly affect the cost of this representation. The Judicial Council stated they are unable to determine the fiscal impact of this legislation since it is not possible to predict the number of cases that may result from the enactment of this legislation. The Council assumes cases will be assigned to either the public defender or a contract attorney, either of who are compensated at the fixed rate of $250 per misdemeanor or juvenile case. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used the $60 per hour rate, with a fee cap of $1,000 for a misdemeanor case and $1,200 for a juvenile case will be charged. If any services other than counsel are approved as an essential component of the case, there will also charges against other Judicial Council appropriations.

The Association of Counties stated this bill expands an existing law whose penalty is a misdemeanor. Such a penalty creates a cost for the county correctional facilities. The direct impact 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 is $21,634.

The Department of Justice states that the agency seldom becomes involved in violations of prohibited sale of possession of weapons, and it is assumed the agency would continue not to be involved. Therefor, the financial burden to the agency would be negligible.