CHAPTER 184
HB 1533-FN – FINAL VERSION
5Mar2014… 0595h
04/24/14 1368s
4Jun2014… 1898CofC
2014 SESSION
04/06
HOUSE BILL 1533-FN
AN ACT requiring a warrant to search information in a portable electronic device.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kurk, Hills 2; Rep. Sandblade, Hills 18; Rep. O'Flaherty, Hills 12
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires a government entity to obtain a warrant before searching a portable electronic device.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
5Mar2014… 0595h
04/24/14 1368s
4Jun2014… 1898CofC
14-2468
04/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT requiring a warrant to search information in a portable electronic device.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
184:1 New Section; Breaches of the Peace and Related Offenses; Searches of Portable Electronic Devices. Amend RSA 644 by inserting after section 20 the following new section:
644:21 Searches of Portable Electronic Devices.
I. Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Government entity” means a federal, state, county, or local government agency, including but not limited to a law enforcement agency or any other investigative entity, agency, department, division, bureau, board, or commission, or an individual acting or purporting to act for, or on behalf of, a federal, state, county, or local government agency. “Government entity” shall not apply to a federal government agency to the extent that federal statute preempts state statute.
(b) “Information” includes any information concerning the substance or meaning or purported substance or meaning of a communication, including without limitation the name and address of the sender and receiver and the time, date, location, and duration of the communication.
(c) “Portable electronic device” means any portable device that is capable of creating, receiving, accessing, or storing electronic data or communications, including but not limited to cellular telephones.
II. No information contained in a portable electronic device shall be subject to search by a government entity, including a search incident to a lawful arrest or for inventory purposes, except pursuant to a warrant signed by a judge and based on probable cause, or pursuant to a legally-recognized exception to the warrant requirement. A portable electronic device searched pursuant to this paragraph shall be returned to its owner as expeditiously as possible.
III. Evidence obtained in violation of this section shall not be admissible in a criminal, civil, administrative, or other proceeding, except as proof of a violation of this section.
IV. A person injured by a government entity as a result of a violation of this section may file civil suit against the government entity.
184:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.
Approved: July 11, 2014
Effective Date: July 1, 2014