HB 1549-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 1549-FN
AN ACT prohibiting copying, reproducing, or retaining personal documents of voters.
This bill prohibits copying, reproducing, or retaining personal documents of voters.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2527
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT prohibiting copying, reproducing, or retaining personal documents of voters.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Determining Qualifications of Applicant; Copying, Reproducing, or Retaining Personal Documents. Amend RSA 654:12 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI.(a) No election official shall photocopy or otherwise reproduce any documentation presented to the election official by an applicant for purposes of proving his or her age, domicile, or identity.
(b) No election official shall retain for any purpose any copy, image, or other reproduction of any documentation presented to the election official by an applicant for purposes of proving his or her age, domicile, or identity or submitted to the election official for such purpose under RSA 654:17.
(c) Any person who violates this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2 Destruction of Personal Documents. Within 60 days of the effective date of RSA 654:12, VI, as inserted by section 1 of this act, all election officials in the state shall destroy any copies, images, or other reproductions prohibited by RSA 654:12, VI in their possession.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
LBAO
10-2527 12/01/09
HB 1549-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT prohibiting copying, reproducing, or retaining personal documents of voters.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, the New Hampshire Association of Counties and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may increase state, county and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will add RSA 654:12, VI to prohibit an election official from photocopying or otherwise reproducing or from retaining certain personal documents of voters. Any election official violating the prohibitions would be guilty of an unspecified misdemeanor. Misdemeanor charges can be either a class A or class B with the presumption they will be class B in accordance with RSA 625:9,IV. However, the Branch has no information to estimate how many new misdemeanors would be brought as a result of this bill or if they would be a class A or class B misdemeanors. The Branch states the cost of a class A misdemeanor case is $51.14 and the cost of a class B misdemeanor case is $36.89 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. The possibility of appeals increases the likelihood the fiscal impact on the Branch will exceed $10,000.
The Judicial Council states to the extent an unspecified misdemeanor results in a misdemeanor offense where the right to counsel exists this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor is charged by a public defender or contract attorney. If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour with a cap of $1,400 for a misdemeanor charge. The Council also states additional costs could be incurred if an appeal is filed. The public defender, contract attorney and assigned counsel rates for Supreme Court appeals is $2,000 per case, with many assigned counsel attorneys seeking permission to exceed the fee cap. Requests to exceed the fee cap are seldom granted. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.
LBAO
10-2527 12/01/09
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent an individual is prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be detained or incarcerated as a result of this bill. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $35,342 a year.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states many municipalities do not copy or reproduce personal documents of voters, therefore would not be impacted by this bill. To the extent a municipality does have documents that need to be destroyed within the 60 day time frame, they may costs related to personnel searching through documents and pursing documents and destroying documents. The Association does not have the information to estimate the fiscal impact this bill might have on local expenditures.
The Department of Justice states any fiscal impact can be absorbed by the Department with existing resources.