New Hampshire Legislative Service Requests (LSR's)

HB 1039-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2024 SESSION

24-2486

09/05

HOUSE BILL 1039-FN

AN ACT relative to alternative sentencing for primary caregivers.

SPONSORS: Rep. Bouldin, Hills. 25; Rep. Harriott-Gathright, Hills. 10; Rep. A. Murray, Hills. 20

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires courts before sentencing a nonviolent offender to determine if the offender is a primary caregiver to a dependent and allows for an individually assessed sentence if so.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2486

09/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT relative to alternative sentencing for primary caregivers.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Criminal Code; Sentences; Discretionary Sentences; Individually Assessed Sentences. Amend RSA 651 by inserting after section 19-a the following new section:

651:19-b Individually Assessed Sentences.

I. In this section:

(a) "Child" means any person under 18 years of age.

(b) "Elderly" means a person 60 years of age or older.

(d) "Nonviolent offense" means any crime which is not:

(1) Any offense under RSA 630;

(2) Second degree assault under RSA 631:2;

(3) Domestic violence under RSA 631:2-b;

(4) Any offense under RSA 633;

(5) Burglary under RSA 635:1;

(6) Extortion under RSA 637:5;

(7) Any offense under RSA 649-B;

(8) Any violent crime as defined by RSA 651:5, XIII;

(9) Any offense which has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force or a deadly weapon against another;

(10) Any offense punishable by life imprisonment;

(11) Any offense which involves the use of explosives; or

(12) Any offense which otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious risk of physical injury to another.

(e) "Primary caregiver to a dependent" means a person who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, and safety of a child, elderly person, or person with a disability, prior to the person’s sentencing hearing; or, a person who has given birth to a child while awaiting their sentencing hearing and who is willing to assume responsibility for the housing, health, and safety of that child. A person who, in the best interest of the child, has arranged for the temporary care of the child in the home of a relative or other responsible adult shall not for that reason be excluded from the definition of "primary caregiver to a dependent child".

II. Prior to the sentencing of a person convicted of an offense, the sentencing court shall determine if the offense was a nonviolent offense. If the court determines that the offense was a nonviolent offense, the sentencing court shall determine if the convicted person is a primary caregiver to a dependent. If the court determines that a person convicted of a nonviolent offense is a primary caregiver to a dependent, the court may impose an individually assessed sentence, without imprisonment, based on community rehabilitation, with a focus on caregiver-dependent unity and support. In imposing the individually assessed sentence, the court may require the person to meet certain conditions that the court considers appropriate, including, but not limited to:

(a) Drug and alcohol treatment;

(b) Anger management counseling;

(d) Job training and placement;

(e) Affordable and safe housing assistance;

(f) Financial literacy;

(g) Parenting classes;

(h) Family case management service; or

(i) Restorative or transformative justice programming.

III. The court may require the person to appear in court at any time during the person's sentence to evaluate the person's progress in treatment or rehabilitation, or to determine if the person has violated any condition of the sentence. Upon appearance, the court may:

(a) Modify the conditions of the sentence;

(b) Decrease the duration of the sentence based on the person's successful advancement;

(c) In the event of noncompliance, impose sanctions designed to bring about compliance with the terms of the sentence; or

(d) In the event of continued noncompliance, impose a term of confinement consistent with the original conviction.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.

LBA

24-2486

11/7/23

HB 1039-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to alternative sentencing for primary caretakers.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None


Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)
	FY 2024	FY 2025	FY 2026	FY 2027
Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
Revenue Fund(s)	None
Expenditures	$0	Indeterminable	Indeterminable	Indeterminable
Funding Source(s)	General Fund
Appropriations	$0	$0	$0	$0
Funding Source(s)	None
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No

Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease)
	FY 2024	FY 2025	FY 2026	FY 2027
County Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
County Expenditures	$0	Indeterminable	Indeterminable	Indeterminable

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires courts before sentencing a non-violent offender to determine if the offender is a

primary caretaker of a dependent and allows for an individually assessed sentence if so.

The Judicial Branch indicates it is not possible to estimate how this bill would impact the cost of conducting sentencing for non-violent offenders. The Branch anticipates additional expenditures would be incurred to train judges to ensure consistent application of the statute. The Branch has a budget appropriation for training and judges currently receive about one week of training each year. Additional costs would be incurred to update the ongoing training and the Branch may also incur costs above the normal training to ensure all judges are trained on the new law in time to comply with the effective date of the bill.

In addition to the potential impact to the Judicial Branch, there may be an impact on State and county correctional costs. The Department of Corrections and the New Hampshire Association of Counties have provided the following information on correctional costs.

Department of Corrections		FY 2024		FY 2025
FY 2023 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual		$71,186		$71,186
FY 2023 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate		$8,386		$8,386
FY 2023 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation		$755		$755
The Department notes any increase in the incarcerated population will have a direct impact on overtime costs given the Department’s history of challenges associated with recruitment. In addition, the NH State Prison for Men has a degrading infrastructure which will only be exacerbated if an increase in the incarcerated population were to occur.
NH Association of Counties	FY 2024		FY 2025
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual	$105 to $125		$105 to $125

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Department of Corrections and New Hampshire Association of Counties