HB 583-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2015 SESSION
15-0843
09/04
HOUSE BILL 583-FN
AN ACT requiring state law enforcement officers to wear a camera when interacting with the public and making an appropriation therefor.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cushing, Rock 21; Rep. Pantelakos, Rock 25; Rep. Welch, Rock 13; Sen. Carson, Dist 14
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill requires state law enforcement officers to wear a camera when interacting with the public. The bill establishes a police accountability and safety fund, which is funded with a surcharge on criminal and civil fines, to pay the costs for cameras and related expenses.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
15-0843
09/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT requiring state law enforcement officers to wear a camera when interacting with the public and making an appropriation therefor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; State Police; Camera Required. Amend RSA 106-B by inserting after section 8 the following new section:
106-B:8-a Camera Required; Fund Established.
I. Each uniformed law enforcement officer of the division of state police shall, at all times when the officer is interacting with the public in his or her official capacity, wear an operating camera with a microphone for audio capture. The division of state police shall catalog and preserve video and audio recorded by the cameras. The director of state police shall have a written policy that outlines, at a minimum, the proper uses of the equipment, the times when the camera is to be activated, conditions under which is it permissible not to have the camera activated, the retention period for the tapes or other recording media, the method for replacing defective or nonfunctioning equipment, and a logging policy to record failures or periods when the equipment is down for repairs. The policy shall be on file at the agency and open to public inspection or available on the department of safety’s website.
II. There is hereby established the police accountability and safety fund for the purpose of camera purchases, maintenance and repair, and related equipment and services. This fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of safety. The commissioner of safety may apply for and accept grants and donations from federal and private sources for deposit in this fund. Surcharges on criminal and civil crimes collected by the courts under RSA 490:26-a, II-b shall be deposited in this fund.
2 Special Fund New Subparagraph; Special Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (326) the following new subparagraph:
(327) Surcharges on criminal and civil fines collected under RSA 490:26-a, II-b, which shall be deposited in the police accountability and safety fund established in RSA 106-B:8-a, II.
3 Wiretapping; Permissible Uses. Amend RSA 570-A:2, II(j) to read as follows:
(j) A uniformed law enforcement officer to make an audio recording in conjunction with a video recording [of a routine stop performed] in the ordinary course of [patrol] the officer’s duties [on any way as defined by RSA 259:125] or as required by law, provided that the officer shall first give notification of such recording to the party to the communication.
4 New Section; Rights of Accused; Video and Audio Recordings. Amend RSA 604 by inserting after section 3 the following new section:
604:4 Video and Audio Recordings. In any prosecution, if the state expects to offer the testimony of a law enforcement officer against a defendant and the law enforcement officer was required by law to record video or audio information of his or her interaction with the defendant, the state shall produce a copy of the video or audio information in a reasonably usable format upon the defendant’s request. If the state does not produce the video or audio information, the defendant is entitled to a spoliation instruction substantially stating that the missing information should be presumed favorable to the defendant.
5 New Paragraph; Court Fees and Fines; Surcharge on Criminal and Civil Fines. Amend RSA 490:26-a by inserting after paragraph II-a the following new paragraph:
II-b. There shall be a $1 surcharge added to each criminal or civil fine imposed by the courts. This surcharge shall be deposited in the police accountability and safety fund established in RSA 106-B:8-a, II.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
LBAO
15-0843
01/26/15
HB 583-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring state law enforcement officers to wear a camera when interacting with the public and making an appropriation therefor.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety and Judicial Branch state this bill, as introduced, will increase state expenditures by $472,400 in FY 2016, $254,400 in FY 2017, $255,400 in FY 2018, and $257,400 in FY 2019, and increase state restricted revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2016 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill would require uniformed state law enforcement officers of the division of state police to wear body cameras when interacting with the public in the ordinary course of their duties. The proposed legislation institutes a $1 surcharge on criminal and civil fines to be deposited into a newly established, non-lapsing, and continually appropriated police accountability and safety fund to support the purchase, maintenance, and repair of related equipment and supporting services. This bill also allows the Department to apply for and accept grants and donations from federal and private sources for deposit in the fund. The Department states implementation of the proposed legislation would require outfitting 340 troopers with body camera systems; the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure to transfer and store video files; and personnel resources sufficient to process additional right to know requests that would be made to access stored video files. The Department states its current staffing levels would not be capable of facilitating the increased number of right to know requests that could potentially arise from the passage of the proposed legislation. Accordingly, the Department’s costs estimates for the implementation of the proposed legislation include the addition of one part time paralegal (labor grade 16) working 30 hours per week. The Department estimates the implementation of the proposed legislation would increase state expenditures as follows:
FY2016 |
FY2017 |
FY2018 |
FY2019 | |
350 Cameras (340 for troopers and 10 spares at $600 each) |
$ 210,000 |
$ - |
$ - |
$ - |
Costs of Delivery and Set Up |
$ 4,000 |
$ - |
$ - |
$ - |
Cloud Based Client Server ($55 per trooper per month) |
$ 224,400 |
$ 224,400 |
$ 224,400 |
$ 224,400 |
Part Time Paralegal I (LG16 at 30hrs per week, Including Initial Equipment Costs) |
$ 34,000 |
$ 30,000 |
$ 31,000 |
$ 33,000 |
Estimated Increase in State Expenditures |
$ 472,400 |
$ 254,400 |
$ 255,400 |
$ 257,400 |
The Judicial Branch states the courts imposed 106,223 fines in FY 2014 upon which the proposed $1 surcharge would apply and therefore estimates the proposed legislation’s surcharge would increase state restricted revenues by approximately $106,223 in FY 2015 and each fiscal year thereafter. The Department is unable to estimate amounts available to the newly established fund in the form of grants and donations.