HB 591-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 591-FN
AN ACT relative to an affirmative defense to certain felonious sexual assault offenses.
SPONSORS: Rep. L. Hammond, Graf 11; Rep. Fontas, Hills 24; Rep. Charron, Rock 7
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill establishes an affirmative defense to certain prosecutions for felonious sexual 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0748
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to an affirmative defense to certain felonious sexual assault offenses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Felonious Sexual Assault. Amend the introductory paragraph of paragraphs I and II of RSA 632-A:3 to read as follows:
632-A:3 Felonious Sexual Assault. A person is guilty of a class B felony if such person commits any of the following acts:
I. Subjects a person to sexual contact and causes serious personal injury to the victim under any of the circumstances named in RSA 632-A:2[; or].
II.(a) 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 3 years or more[; or].
(b) It is an affirmative defense under this paragraph that the defendant reasonably believed the person was 16 years of age or older at the time of the offense.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0748
Revised 03/01/07
HB 591 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to an affirmative defense to certain felonious sexual assault offenses.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Justice, Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and Department of Corrections state the fiscal impact on state general fund expenditures is indeterminable in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Justice states this bill creates an affirmative defense for individuals charged with the offense of felonious sexual assault. Passage of this bill would have a negligible impact on the prosecutorial responsibilities of the Department. The Department rarely prosecutes these types of cases as they are typically prosecuted by county attorneys. Because this bill creates a defense that currently does not exist, it may result in a decrease in the number of convictions for this type of offense. This may result in a decrease in the number of criminal appeals handled by the Criminal Justice Bureau. However, the fiscal impact on state expenditures cannot be determined.
The Judicial Branch states this bill establishes a defense to the charge of felonious sexual assault. The Branch states that there were 354 charges of felonious sexual assault in 2006. The possible impact of such legislation is that it could lower the number of prosecutions, which would decrease state expenditures, or it may lengthen trials for the presentation of evidence of the defense, which would increase state expenditures. The Branch calculates the judicial, clerical, jury and bailiff costs of a sexual assault felony at $670 per charge using current salary levels. This would be the cost avoided if the bill resulted in fewer prosecutions. The cost of a full day’s jury trial in the superior court is calculated at $1,693 or $226 per hour based on current salary levels. In the event that this bill results in longer trials this would increase state expenditures. However, the Branch is unable to predict the bill’s impact on the number of prosecutions or on the length of trials and therefore cannot determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.
The Judicial Council states the fiscal impact of establishing a defense to an existing felony may be neutral or it may increase the cost of defending. Establishing a defense does not remove the case from potential prosecution prior to the point where appointment of counsel must be made. The Council assumes that any cases arising from this charge, for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will in the first instance be handled by the public defender or a contract attorney on a fixed fee basis of $2,283 per felony. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $3,000 per felony will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or “services other than counsel” are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. Any case where a defendant has been found guilty may also result in appeals to the Supreme Court which would have a cost implication for Indigent Defense expenditures made by the State. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases that may result from the passage of this bill, and is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine this bill’s impact on the number of individuals that will be convicted of felonious sexual assault. The average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population is $31,140 and the cost to supervise an offender by the Department’s Division of Field Services is $1,174 base on the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006.