SB 399-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2022 SESSION
22-2858
05/10
SENATE BILL 399-FN
AN ACT repealing the fetal health protection act.
SPONSORS: Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Kahn, Dist 10; Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 6; Rep. Simpson, Rock. 36; Rep. Amanda Bouldin, Hills. 12; Rep. Rogers, Merr. 28; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill repeals the fetal health protection act, which prohibits a health care provider from performing an abortion after 24 weeks except in the case of a medical emergency.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22-2858
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT repealing the fetal health protection act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Title. This act may be known and cited as the Reproductive Health Privacy Act.
2 Repeal. RSA 329:43 through 329:50, relative to the fetal health protection act, are repealed.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
22-2858
12/21/21
SB 399-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT repealing the fetal health protection act.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
|
|
|
|
|
COUNTY: |
|
|
|
|
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease | Indeterminable decrease |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill repeals RSA 329:43 through 329:50, relative to the fetal health protection act. Since the bill removes a felony offense from statute, it may decrease costs for the judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many fewer charges may be brought as a result of the changes contained in the bill. However, the entities impacted have provided the costs associated with felony cases below.
Judicial Council | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. |
Contract Attorney – Felony | $825/Case | $825/Case |
Assigned Counsel – Felony. Homicide (Including capital cases) | $100/Hour up to $20,000 | $100/Hour up to $20,000 |
Assigned Counsel – Felony | $60/Hour up to $4,100 | $60/Hour up to $4,100 |
Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor | $60/Hour up to $1,400 | $60/Hour up to $1,400 |
It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. Historically, approximately 85% of the indigent defense caseload has been handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%). Beginning in March of 2021, the public defender program has had to close intake to new cases due to excessive caseloads. Due to these closures, the contract and assigned counsel program have had to absorb significantly more cases. The system is experiencing significant delays in appointing counsel and the costs of representation have increased due to travel time and multiple appointments. | ||
Department of Corrections | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
FY 2021 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $54,386 | $54,386 |
FY 2021 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate | $5,715 | $5,715 |
FY 2021 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $603 | $603 |
NH Association of Counties | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $105 to $125 | $105 to $125 |
With respect to the Judicial Branch, the fiscal impact is indeterminable. In the past the Judicial Branch has used averaged caseload data based on time studies to estimate the fiscal impact of proposed legislation. The per case data on costs for routine criminal cases currently available to the Judicial Branch are based on studies of judicial and clerical weighted caseload times for processing average routine criminal cases that are more than fifteen years old so the data does not have current validity. A new case study is being conducted and updated estimates will be available in the future.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Corrections and New Hampshire Association of Counties