HB1601: removing the exception for married minors from the definition of sexual assault.

HB 1601-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2020 SESSION

20-2102

04/05

HOUSE BILL 1601-FN

AN ACT removing the exception for married minors from the definition of sexual assault.

SPONSORS: Rep. Altschiller, Rock. 19; Rep. Read, Rock. 17; Rep. Gay, Rock. 8; Rep. Levesque, Straf. 4

COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

ANALYSIS

This bill removes the exception for legally married spouses from certain sexual assault offenses.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2102

04/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT removing the exception for married minors from the definition of sexual assault.

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

1 Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:2, I(h) to read as follows:

(h) When[, except as between legally married spouses,] the victim has a disability that renders him or her incapable of freely arriving at an independent choice as to whether or not to engage in sexual conduct, and the actor knows or has reason to know that the victim has such a disability.

2 Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:2, I(j)-(k) to read as follows:

(j) When[, except as between legally married spouses,] the victim is 13 years of age or older and under 16 years of age and:

(1) the actor is a member of the same household as the victim; or

(2) the actor is related by blood or affinity to the victim.

(k) When[, except as between legally married spouses,] the victim is 13 years of age or older and under 18 years of age and the actor is in a position of authority over the victim and uses this authority to coerce the victim to submit.

3 Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:3, II-III to read as follows:

II. Engages in sexual penetration with a person[, other than his legal spouse,] who is 13 years of age or older and under 16 years of age where the age difference between the actor and the other person is 4 years or more; or

III. Engages in sexual contact with a person [other than his legal spouse] who is under 13 years of age.

4 Sexual Assault. Amend RSA 632-A:4, I(b) and (c) to read as follows:

(b) When the actor subjects another person[, other than the actor's legal spouse,] who is 13 years of age or older and under 16 years of age to sexual contact where the age difference between the actor and the other person is 5 years or more.

(c) In the absence of any of the circumstances set forth in RSA 632-A:2, when the actor engages in sexual penetration with a person[, other than the actor's legal spouse,] who is 13 years of age or older and under 16 years of age where the age difference between the actor and the other person is 4 years or less.

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

LBAO

20-2102

12/4/19

HB 1601-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT removing the exception for married minors from the definition of sexual assault.

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 removes the exception for legally married spouse from certain sexual assault offenses.

The bill affects 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

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

Contract Attorney – Major Crimes (aggravated felonious sexual assault, felonious sexual assault and first degree assault)

$2,490/Case

$2,490/Case

Assigned Counsel – Major Crimes (aggravated felonious sexual assault, felonious sexual assault and first degree assault)

$100/Hour up to $8,000

$100/Hour up to $8,000

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.

It is assumed this bill will not have a fiscal impact until FY 2021.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

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