Bill Text: NH HB379 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requiring notice be provided to tenants during residential eviction proceedings regarding legal counsel.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-18 - Rereferred to Committee, Motion Adopted, Voice Vote; 05/18/2023; Senate Journal 15 [HB379 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2023-HB379-Amended.html
HB 379-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
14Feb2023... 0347h
2023 SESSION
23-0290
04/10
HOUSE BILL 379-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Seibert, Hills. 21; Rep. Newell, Ches. 4; Rep. Staub, Hills. 25; Rep. Gallager, Merr. 20; Rep. Veilleux, Hills. 34
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill provides that tenants subject to eviction shall be provided with instructions on the process for contacting and obtaining assistance from New Hampshire Legal Assistance
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14Feb2023... 0347h 23-0290
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Actions Against Tenants; Notice to Tenants. Amend RSA 540:3 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
III-a. The eviction notice shall clearly state that an indigent tenant may be eligible for assistance from New Hampshire Legal Assistance for legal counsel in the eviction proceeding and shall include instructions on the process for contacting and obtaining such assistance. This paragraph does not guarantee a right to legal assistance.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
23-0290
1/3/23
HB 379-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
Appropriation | $1 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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METHODOLOGY:
The bill would require the courts to appoint legal counsel upon the filing of an eviction notice for any tenant who requests counsel if the tenant can demonstrate that they are indigent. It also establishes a nonlapsing dedicated fund administered by the Judicial Council to pay the cost of counsel, investigative experts, or other services and expenses necessary to provide adequate representation for indigent tenants in eviction proceedings.
The Judicial Council assumes, based on current statistics, they would need an additional senior accounting technician (labor grade 14) to process payments for counsel in indigent tenant evictions and the payments for necessary services associated with those cases. The wage for labor grade 14, step 1 starts at $33,404. The Judicial Council states they would also expend $1.6 million annually for the additional cost of legal services, excluding services other than counsel. Although the amount of attorney time required for each eviction case is indeterminable the Council was able to make the following assumptions to calculate an impact.
- Indigent tenant lawyers would spend approximately 3.5 hours on a case and bill for one hour of paralegal time. under Supreme Court Rule 48, that lawyer would be compensated as follows:
Hours of legal work | Rule 48 hourly rate of $90/hour | One hour of paralegal time | Total cost per case, not including travel time |
3.5 hours | $315.00 | $40.00 | $355.00 |
- Applying that estimated cost per case to the number of landlord/tenant filings in 2021 suggests the following fiscal impact of the proposed legislation:
Estimated cost per case assuming 3.5 hours of legal work, plus one hour of paralegal work, with no billable travel | Number of landlord/tenant cases filed in calendar year 2021 | Estimated annual cost for legal services, excluding services other than counsel |
$355.00 | 4,499 | $1,597,145.00 |
The additional fiscal impact of services other than counsel necessary to indigent tenant eviction cases is indeterminable.
The Judicial Branch states although the cost of legal counsel would be funded by the Judicial Council, the Judicial Branch would see an increase in expenditures as they would need to develop forms, rules for landlord/tenant cases as well as additional court judicial staff resources to review financial information and appoint legal counsel. The Judicial Branch states because they do not know the amount of cases that would involve the appointment of legal counsel the fiscal impact would be an indeterminable increase in State and County expenditures starting in FY 2024 and forward.
This bill does not establish or provide an appropriation for new positions.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Council and Judicial Branch
