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SB524: relative to immunity from arrest or prosecution for prostitution for seeking medical assistance for reporting certain crimes.
Bill details
Version history, amendments, and roll-call votes were not present in the imported local bill data.
Sponsors
- Harold French Senate · Dist 7
- John Reagan Senate · Dist 17
Topics
Criminal justice and courts Health care
Official links
SB 524-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/05/2020 0724s
2020 SESSION
20-2921
04/10
SENATE BILL 524-FN
AN ACT relative to immunity from arrest or prosecution for prostitution for seeking medical assistance for reporting certain crimes.
ANALYSIS
This bill provides immunity from prosecution for prostitution for a person reporting to law enforcement that such person or another person is the victim of a sexual assault, incest, or assault.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/05/2020 0724s 20-2921
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to immunity from arrest or prosecution for prostitution for seeking medical assistance for reporting certain crimes.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraphs; Prostitution and Related Offenses; Immunity From Prosecution. Amend RSA 645:2 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraphs:
VII. As used in this section, "reports being the victim of a sexual assault" or other crime means reporting the initial crime to law enforcement and assisting law enforcement to identify the alleged perpetrator. It does not include further cooperation in prosecution.
VIII. It shall be a defense to a violation of this section that a person reports being the victim of a sexual assault as defined in RSA 632-A:2, 632-A:3, or 632-A:4, incest under RSA 639:2, or assault under RSA 631:1 through RSA 631:2-b. A person who reports being the victim of such an offense shall not be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for a violation of this section if the evidence for the charge was gained as a proximate result of the person’s reporting. Any victim seeking medical treatment following a sexual assault shall be afforded all options of care outlined in the New Hampshire attorney general’s sexual assault medical forensic exam protocol without making a report to or cooperating with law enforcement.
IX. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the admissibility of evidence in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a crime involving a person who is not protected as provided in paragraph VIII. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the lawful seizure of any evidence or contraband. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or abridge the authority of a law enforcement officer to detain or place into custody a person as part of a criminal investigation who is not protected by the provisions of paragraph VIII.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.
LBAO
20-2921
Amended 3/9/20
SB 524-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2020-0724s)
AN ACT relative to immunity from arrest or prosecution for prostitution for seeking medical assistance for reporting certain crimes.
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 impacts penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many fewer 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 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 less cases or handle less appeals, then costs may decrease by an indeterminable amount.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties