SB 14-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
04/09
SENATE BILL 14-FN
AN ACT relative to the brandishing of a firearm.
SPONSORS: Sen. De Blois, Dist 18; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3
This bill provides that a person who is anywhere he or she has a right to be and who displays or brandishes a weapon to warn off a threat shall not be guilty of criminal threatening.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0453
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to the brandishing of a firearm.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Assault and Related Offenses; Criminal Threatening. Amend RSA 631:4, IV to read as follows:
IV. A person who is anywhere he or she has a right to be and who responds to a threat which would be considered by a reasonable person as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death to the person or to another by displaying or brandishing a firearm or other means of self-defense with the intent to warn away the person making the threat shall not have committed a criminal act under this section.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0453
01/24/11
SB 14-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the brandishing of a firearm.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, Department of Corrections and the New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill may decrease state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 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 amends RSA 631:4, IV to make an exception to the criminal threatening statute to be applicable only to a person who “is anywhere he or she has a right to be” and expands the exception to “brandishing” a firearm. The Branch states this bill could result in a decrease in costs to the Branch by removing criminal threatening charges that would likely be treated as class B felonies. The Branch states the class B felony would be classified as a routine felony. The Branch has no information to estimate how many cases will no longer be brought but does have estimated costs for processing a routine felony case. The Branch states a routine felony case costs $394.13 in FY 2012 and $399.33 in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The Branch also states this bill could result in fewer appeals resulting in some cost decreases but has no information to determine the number of appeals that may not be made.
The Judicial Council states this bill may decrease expenditure of indigent defense funds by an indeterminable amount but has no information to determine how many indigent defenses clients would not be charged or the level of charge that would not be brought if this bill was in effect. The Council is able to provide information on the types of costs that may decrease as a result of this bill. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor or $756.24 per felony 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 and $4,100 for a felony 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, there are costs for services other than counsel when requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.
The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not have sufficient detail to predict the number of individuals who would be subject to this legislation and thus avoid incarceration in the State’s prisons. The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $32,492. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $659.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent less individuals are incarcerated in county facilities, county expenditures may decrease by an indeterminable amount. The average annual cost to incarcerate an individual in a county correctional facility is approximately $35,000.
The Department of Justice states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department as the charges contained in RSA 631:4, IV are typically prosecuted by local or county prosecutors.