SB678: relative to the penalty for escape.

SB 678-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2020 SESSION

20-2801

04/01

SENATE BILL 678-FN

AN ACT relative to the penalty for escape.

SPONSORS: Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill amends the circumstances necessary for charging escape as a misdemeanor or 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2801

04/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT relative to the penalty for escape.

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

1 Obstructing Governmental Operations; Escape. Amend RSA 642:6, III to read as follows:

III. The offense is a class A felony if the actor employs force against any person which results or could result in serious bodily injury or threatens any person with a deadly weapon to effect the escape, except that if the deadly weapon is a firearm, the actor shall be sentenced in accordance with RSA 651:2, II-g. The offense is a class B felony if the actor was [on parole, subject to a bail order, was a prisoner at an adult or juvenile correction facility at the time, or had been released from any correctional institution pursuant to administrative home confinement or any treatment program or other place as directed by the correctional authority or sentencing court, or had a prior conviction of the crime of escape. If no physical force was used by the actor and no persons other than the actor sustained bodily injury as a result of the escape, the offense is a class A misdemeanor] incarcerated in an adult or juvenile correctional facility at the time or had a prior conviction for escape. The offense is a class A misdemeanor if the actor is under arrest or subject to a bail order or other confinement pursuant to a court order, unless the actor uses physical force, in which case it is a class B felony.

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

LBAO

20-2801

1/7/20

SB 678-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to the penalty for escape.

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 amends the circumstances necessary for charging an escape as a misdemeanor or felony. The 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 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.

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