HB1271: relative to 911 immunity relative to possession of drugs.

HB 1271-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2020 SESSION

20-2706

04/10

HOUSE BILL 1271-FN

AN ACT relative to 911 immunity relative to possession of drugs.

SPONSORS: Rep. Amanda Bouldin, Hills. 12; Rep. Meuse, Rock. 29; Rep. Bordenet, Ches. 5; Rep. Conley, Straf. 13; Rep. Rodd, Merr. 6; Rep. Cleaver, Hills. 35; Rep. Andrew Bouldin, Hills. 12; Rep. DiLorenzo, Rock. 17; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Levesque, Dist 12

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill provides immunity from criminal charges for possession of a controlled drug for a person who reports to law enforcement that such person or another person has been the victim of a violent crime.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2706

04/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT relative to 911 immunity relative to possession of drugs.

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

1 Controlled Drug Act; Immunity From Liability. Amend RSA 318-B:28-b, II-III to read as follows:

II. It shall be a defense to an offense of possessing or having under his or her control, a controlled drug in violation of RSA 318-B:2 that a person in good faith and in a timely manner requests medical assistance for another person who is experiencing a drug overdose, or in good faith and in a timely manner reports that another person has been the victim of a violent crime. A person who in good faith and in a timely manner requests medical assistance for another person who is experiencing a drug overdose, or in good faith and in a timely manner reports that another person has been the victim of a violent crime, shall not be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for possessing, or having under his or her control, a controlled drug in violation of RSA 318:B-2, if the evidence for the charge was gained as a proximate result of the request for medical assistance or the report to law enforcement. In this paragraph, "violent crime" shall have the same meaning as in RSA 651:5, XIII.

III. It shall be a defense to an offense of possessing or having under his or her control, a controlled drug in violation of RSA 318-B:2 that a person who is experiencing a drug overdose, in good faith and in a timely manner, requests medical assistance for himself or herself, or in good faith and in a timely manner reports that he or she has been the victim of a violent crime, or is the victim in a good faith and timely report of a violent crime. A person who in good faith requests, or is the subject of a good faith request for medical assistance, or in good faith and in a timely manner reports that he or she has been the victim of a violent crime, or is the victim in a good faith and timely report of a violent crime, shall not be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for possessing, or having under his or her control, a controlled drug in violation of RSA 318-B:2, if the evidence for the charge was gained as a proximate result of the request for medical assistance or the report to law enforcement. In this paragraph, "violent crime" shall have the same meaning as in RSA 651:5, XIII.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

20-2706

Redraft 10/24/19

HB 1271-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to 911 immunity relative to possession of drugs.

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 Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

Funding Source:

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

COUNTY:

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

Indeterminable Decrease

METHODOLOGY:

This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges will not 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

Class B Misdemeanor

$54

$56

Class A Misdemeanor

$77

$79

Simple Criminal Case

$300

$314

Routine Criminal Felony Case

$484

$498

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 – Felony

$825/Case

$825/Case

Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor

$300/Case

$300/Case

Assigned Counsel – Felony

$60/Hour up to $4,100

$60/Hour up to $4,100

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