SB 387-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
05/03
SENATE BILL 387-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for violations of the consumer protection act.
SPONSORS: Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13; Rep. DiFruscia, Rock 4
This bill increases the criminal penalty for violating the consumer protection act if the value of the goods or services are over a specific dollar amount.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
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05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to penalties for violations of the consumer protection act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Consumer Protection; Penalties. Amend RSA 358-A:6 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. Any person convicted of violating RSA 358-A:2 with a value of the goods or services offered or sold in violation of the chapter exceeding $1,000, shall be guilty of a felony. “Value” as used in this section shall have the same meaning as in RSA 637:2.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
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SB 387-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for violations of the consumer protection act.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch and Judicial Council state this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. The Department of Corrections and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state and county expenditures in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill will add RSA 358-A:6, I-a to make any violation of RSA 358-A:2 a felony if the value of the goods and services offered or sold exceeds $1,000. Misdemeanor charges can be either 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 determine if the misdemeanors would be class A or class B misdemeanors. The Branch has no information on how many misdemeanor charges would become felonies under this bill but is able to provide information on the costs associated with each type of case and the potential increase in expenditures resulting for each charge type. 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 cost of a routine felony case is $335.98 in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. If a charge changes from a class A misdemeanor to a routine felony the cost would increase by $284.84 and if a charge changes from a class B misdemeanor to a routine felony the cost would increase by $299.09. The Branch states that for the period of 1999 through June 30, 2008 there has been only one charge brought in the district court for a violation of RSA 358-A:2.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in general fund expenditures by changing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, a public defender or contract attorney will charge the flat fee of $756.25 instead of the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor, an increase of $481.25 per case. If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour but the cap of $1,400 for a misdemeanor charge will change to the $4,100 for a felony charge, an increase of $2,700. The Council states there would continue to be potential for increased costs if an appeal is filed or if
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services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal. 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.
The Department of Corrections states it is unable to determine the fiscal impact of this bill as it does not have information on the number of individuals that would avoid incarceration in the state prisons and be added to the county jails or if this bill would result in additional individuals being incarcerated in the state prisons. The Department states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 was $33,110. The average annual cost to supervise an offender through the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 was $744.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states it is unable to determine if this bill will increase or decrease the number of individuals that may be convicted and detained in a county correctional facility, thus is not able to determine the fiscal impact on county expenditures. The average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county facility is $35,342 a year.
The Department of Justice enforces the criminal and civil penalties contained in the Consumer Protection Act. The Department states this bill will increase the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony; however increasing the penalty will not have a fiscal impact on the Department