HB 1101-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2020 SESSION

20-2003

04/08

 

HOUSE BILL 1101-FN

 

AN ACT imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Rogers, Merr. 28; Rep. Abbott, Ches. 1; Rep. Berch, Ches. 1; Rep. Josephson, Graf. 11; Rep. Muscatel, Graf. 12; Rep. Heath, Hills. 14; Rep. Chretien, Hills. 42; Rep. Bunker, Rock. 18; Rep. Horrigan, Straf. 6

 

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill establishes a waiting period for the delivery of a firearm.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2003

04/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.

 

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

 

1  New Chapter; Purchase and Delivery of a Firearm.  Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 159-D the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 159-E

PURCHASE AND DELIVERY OF A FIREARM

159-E:1  Purchase and Delivery of a Firearm.  

I.  No licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector shall transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver a firearm to any person, other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector until a waiting period of 3 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, has expired.  "Licensed importer," "licensed manufacturer," "licensed dealer," "licensed collector," and "firearm" shall have the same meaning as in 18 U.S.C. section 921.

II.  A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector shall make available records of firearm sales for inspection by any state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, during normal business hours.

III.  The waiting period shall not apply in the following circumstances:

(a)  To the trade-in of a firearm to a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector.

(b)  To the purchase of a rifle or shotgun, upon a person's successfully completing a minimum of a 16-hour hunter education course offered by the department of fish and game.  A person who is exempt from the hunter education course offered by the fish and game department and holds a valid New Hampshire hunting license shall be exempt from the waiting period under this section for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun.

(c)  When a rifle or shotgun is being purchased by a state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, state or county correctional officer, or an active duty member of the armed forces as defined in RSA 21:50, III.  

159-E:2  Penalty.  Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a class B felony.  

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.

 

LBAO

20-2003

10/29/19

 

HB 1101-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.

 

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

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill, effective January 1, 2021, imposes a waiting period between purchase and deliver of a firearm in which violations shall be a class B felony that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.  However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

 

Judicial Branch

FY 2021

FY 2022

Simple Criminal Case

$300

$314

Routine Criminal Felony Case

$484

$498

Appeals

Varies

Varies

It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types.  An unspecified misdemeanor can be either class A or class B, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor.

Judicial Council

 

 

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

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. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).

Department of Corrections

 

 

FY 2019 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$44,400

$44,400

FY 2019 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$5,071

$5,071

FY 2019 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$576

$576

NH Association of Counties

 

 

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $120

$105 to $120

 

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors.  When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget.  If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.  

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties