SB325: relative to penalties for a false report to a law enforcement officer.

SB 325-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED

2004 SESSION

04-3020

04/01

SENATE BILL 325-FN-LOCAL

AN ACT relative to penalties for a false report to a law enforcement officer.

SPONSORS: Sen. Boyce, Dist 4; Rep. Giuda, Graf 13

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill increases the penalty for a false report to a law enforcement officer to a class B felony.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

04-3020

04/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to penalties for a false report to a law enforcement officer.

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

1 False Reports to Law Enforcement; Penalty. RSA 641:4 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

641:4 False Report to a Law Enforcement Officer.

I. No person shall:

(a) Knowingly give or cause to be given false information to any law enforcement officer with the purpose of inducing such officer to believe that another has committed an offense; or

(b) Knowingly give or cause to be given information to any law enforcement officer concerning the commission of an offense, or the danger from an explosive or other dangerous substance, knowing that the offense or danger did not occur or exist or knowing that he or she has no information relating to the offense or danger.

II. Any person convicted under this section shall be guilty of a class B felony.

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

LBAO

04-3020

Revised 1/8/04

SB 325 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to penalties for a false report to a law enforcement officer.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and Department of Corrections state this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2005 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Judicial Branch states this bill amends RSA 641:4 to change the penalty for a false report to a law enforcement officer from a misdemeanor to a class B felony. The district courts averaged 300 such charges per year during the past five years. A felony offense can involve arraignment, bail, and probable cause hearings in the district court, numerous hearings and a jury trial in the superior court, and an appeal to the supreme court. The cost of a full day's trial in the superior court, without considering the cost of the jury is $950.48, assuming the costs of a judge, court monitor, deputy clerk, and bailiff. In addition, the cost of preliminary hearings, a jury, staff time to write a charge to the jury, and clerical processing would bring the cost of a jury trial in excess of $1,000 per day. Should a decision be appealed, additional costs would be incurred in judge, law clerk, and staff time at the supreme court. The Branch states the fiscal impact of removing 300 misdemeanors from the district court and adding 300 felonies to the superior court can also be estimated using the average cost per case developed by the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant (LBAO) in its recent audit of judicial branch administration. For the six-year audit period from FY 1997 to FY 2002, the LBAO found the average cost of a district court case was $97, while the average cost in the superior court was $750. Using these figures, the Branch estimates district court expenses will decrease by $29,100 ($97 X 300), and superior court expenses will increase by $225,000 ($750 X 300), resulting in a net increase in judicial branch expenditures of $195,900 annually. The Branch further states that because felony convictions are more often appealed than misdemeanors, the potential exists for more appeals to the supreme court in these cases at a further cost.

The Judicial Council states this bill amends the existing statute by changing the penalty from a class A misdemeanor to a class B felony. Changing the penalty will result in an increased cost of representation in the amount of $437.50 per case, which is the difference in cost between a misdemeanor ($250) and a felony ($687.50) under the flat fee contract system. The Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill 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 per felony charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $3,000 for a felony 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 that may result from the passage of this bill, and are unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.

The Department of Corrections estimates no more than two persons a year would be incarcerated in a state prison as a result of this bill. The average cost of incarceration for FY 2003 was $25,341 per inmate per year. The exact fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.

The Department of Justice states the agency seldom become involved in the prosecution of violations of a false report to law enforcement, and the Department assumes they would continue not to be involved. Therefore, a change in the penalty for such a violation would have a negligible effect on the agency.