HB 87-FN - AS INTRODUCED
1999 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 87-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for marijuana possession.
SPONSORS: Rep. Robertson, Ches 18; Rep. Clemons, Hills 31; Rep. Lynott, Ches 11; Rep. Garrish, Hills 37
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill changes possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, and related offenses, from a class A misdemeanor to a violation.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0124
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT relative to penalties for marijuana possession.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Criminal Classification Modified; Exception Added. Amend RSA 318-B:26, II(d) to read as follows:
(d) In the case of marijuana, including any adulterants or dilutants, or 5 grams or less of hashish, the person shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor, except as provided in subparagraph (e).
(e) In the case of less than one ounce of marijuana, the person shall be guilty of a violation.
2 Criminal Classification Modified. Amend RSA 318-B:26, III(a)-(b) to read as follows:
(a) Controls any premises or vehicle where [he] the person knows a controlled drug or its analog is illegally kept or deposited, except if the controlled drug or its analog is less than one ounce of marijuana, the person shall be guilty of a violation[;].
(b) Aids, assists or abets a person in his or her presence in the perpetration of a crime punishable under paragraph II of this section, knowing that such person is illegally in possession of a controlled drug or its analog, except if the controlled drug or its analog is less than one ounce of marijuana, the person shall be guilty of a violation.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.
LBAO
99-0124
12/16/98
HB 87-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for marijuana possession.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Administrative Office of the Courts, Judicial Council and Department of Corrections have stated this bill may decrease state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2000 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Administrative Office of the Courts states this bill will have little, if any, fiscal impact on the judicial branch in that this change will not significantly impact caseload.
The Judicial Council is unable to predict the actual number of charges which may result from the passage of this new statute for which counsel would have been provided under the prior statute with its misdemeanor penalty. It is anticipated that a savings associated with passage of this bill will occur, since the need for appointment of counsel and access to the ancillary services is removed by making the crime punishable as a violation. It is not possible to project the savings. The public defender rate for a misdemeanor is $220 unless a jury trial is elected in the pilot counties where the fixed fee would be $330.
The Department of Corrections is unable to predict how many, if any, individuals would receive a probation sentence instead of a prison sentence. The average cost of incarceration for FY 1998 was $19,029 per inmate. The average cost of probation/parole supervision was $833.