HB1141: establishing the crime of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image.

HB 1141-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

19Feb2020... 0443h

2020 SESSION

20-2146

04/01

HOUSE BILL 1141-FN

AN ACT establishing the crime of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image.

SPONSORS: Rep. Nutting-Wong, Hills. 32; Rep. J. Schmidt, Hills. 28; Rep. Frost, Straf. 16; Rep. Josephson, Graf. 11

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill establishes the offense of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image.

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

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

19Feb2020... 0443h

20-2146

04/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT establishing the crime of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image.

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

1 New Section; Breaches of the Peace; Unsolicited Disclosure of an Intimate Image. Amend RSA 644 by inserting after section 9-a the following new section:

644:9-b Unsolicited Disclosure of an Intimate Image.

I. In this section:

(a) "Intimate body parts" means the genitals, pubic area, or anus of any person.

(b) "Intimate image" means a photograph, film, videotape, recording, or any other reproduction of an image of an individual with fully or partially exposed intimate body parts or engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

(c) "Send by electronic device" means to send using a cellular telephone or any other electronic communication device, including devices capable of sending text messages or e-mails.

(d) "Sexually explicit conduct" shall have the same meaning as in RSA 649-A:2, III.

II. A person commits the offense of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image when:

(a) He or she sends by electronic device an unsolicited intimate image depicting sexually explicit conduct to a recipient with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm the recipient; and

(b) The person knows that the recipient has not consented to receiving the image, and the recipient has not consented to receiving the image; and

(c) The recipient was harassed, annoyed, or alarmed by the receipt of the image.

III. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation for a first offense and a misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.

LBAO

20-2146

Amended 2/20/20

HB 1141-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2020-0443h)

AN ACT establishing the crime of unsolicited disclosure of an intimate image.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other

COUNTY:

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

METHODOLOGY:

This bill contain penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures. However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

Judicial Branch

FY 2021

FY 2022

Violation Level Offense

$52

$54

Class A Misdemeanor

$77

$79

Class B Misdemeanor

$54

$56

Appeals

Varies

Varies

It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types. An unspecified misdemeanor can be either class A or class B, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor.

Judicial Council

Public Defender Program

Has contract with State to provide services.

Has contract with State to provide services.

Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor

$300/Case

$300/Case

Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor

$60/Hour up to $1,400

$60/Hour up to $1,400

It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).

Department of Corrections

FY 2019 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$44,400

$44,400

FY 2019 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$5,071

$5,071

FY 2019 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$576

$576

NH Association of Counties

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $120

$105 to $120

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties