Bill Text: NH SB105 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to information collected by the division of vital records administration as part of the live birth worksheet.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2023-08-09 - Signed by the Governor on 08/04/2023; Chapter 0211; Effective 08/04/2023 [SB105 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2023-SB105-Amended.html
SB 105-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/23/2023 1037s
2023 SESSION
23-0795
05/08
SENATE BILL 105-FN
SPONSORS: Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Rep. T. Lekas, Hills. 38; Rep. Nutter-Upham, Hills. 8; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 31
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill removes the criminal penalty for information requested on the mother's birth worksheet that is not required for the birth certificate; provides that only de-identified information shall be submitted on the facility worksheet for a live birth; and repeals the requirement that the birth worksheet be retained permanently.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/23/2023 1037s 23-0795
05/08
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; Vital Records Administration; Penalties; Live Birth; Mother's Worksheet. Amend RSA 5-C:14 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. When a live birth is reported to the division of vital records, subparagraph II(a) and paragraph IV shall apply only to the information on the mother's worksheet that is required for the birth certificate.
2 Completion of Birth Worksheet for Hospital or Institutional Births. Amend RSA 5-C:19, II(a) to read as follows:
(a) The hospital or institution birth registrar or designee shall provide, with all personally identifiable information regarding the mother, father, and infant removed prior to submission:
(1) Information regarding the child, including [name,] date and time of birth, and sex.
(2) Information regarding the facility, including name, street address, city or town, and county.
(3) Information regarding the mother including:
(A) [Current name and maiden name.
(B) Date of birth and birthplace.
(C) City or town, county, and state of residence.
(D) Residential address and complete mailing address if different from the residential address, or, if the same as the residential address, her zip code only.
(E) Social security number.
(F)] Usual occupation and the business or industry in which employed.
[(G)] (B) Race.
[(H)] (C) Level of education.
[(I)] (D) Whether she was married at the time of the birth of child, or conception of child, or any time between.
(4) Information regarding the father including:
(A) [Name.
(B) Date of birth and birthplace.
(C) City or town, county, and state of residence.
(D) Residential address and complete mailing address if different from the residential address, or, if the same as the residential address, his zip code only.
(E) Social security number.
(F)] Usual occupation and the business or industry in which employed.
[(G)] (B) Race.
[(H)] (C) Level of education.
(5) The method of payment for prenatal care and for delivery.
(6) Statistical information from the mother, medical reports, and her physician regarding the mother and child including:
(A) Number of live births, not including this child, now living and now dead.
(B) Date of the last live birth.
(C) Other terminations of pregnancy, any time after conception.
(D) Date of the last other termination of pregnancy.
(E) Date last normal menses began.
(F) Month that prenatal care began.
(G) Total number of prenatal visits.
(H) Birth weight of the child.
(I) Clinical estimation of gestation in weeks.
(J) Plurality of the child, including but not limited to single, twin, or triplet.
(K) Birth order of the child.
(L) The Apgar score, which is an evaluation of a newborn infant's physical status, at one minute and at 5 minutes.
(7) If the mother is transferred to another facility before or after giving birth, transfer information for the mother and child including:
(A) Whether the mother was transferred prior to delivery or after delivery.
(B) Whether the infant was transferred after delivery.
(C) Whether the child was living or dead at the time of the report.
(8) Information regarding the medical aspects of the pregnancy including:
(A) Any medical risk factors for the pregnancy.
(B) Any other risk factors for the pregnancy.
(C) Any obstetric procedures performed during the course of the pregnancy.
(D) Any complications of labor and delivery.
(E) The method of delivery.
(F) Any abnormal conditions of the newborn.
(G) Any congenital anomalies of the child.
(9) Indication from one parent whether the division shall be authorized to provide the Social Security Administration with data from the birth record in order for the Social Security Administration to issue a social security number.
(10) Indication from one parent whether the division shall be authorized to release birth record information to the New Hampshire immunization registry.
(11) Signature of the individual who interviewed the parent or other informant certifying that the information has been recorded exactly as given by the parent or other informant or has been taken from medical records.
(12) The hospital, birthing center, or institution shall not disclose on the facility worksheet the mother's medical record number or the infant's medical record number.
3 Revision of Worksheet Forms.
I. No later than January 1, 2024, the division of vital records, in consultation with the division of public health services, hospitals, and freestanding birth centers, shall present revised mother and facility worksheet forms to the oversight committee on health and human services for approval.
II. No later than 12 months after receiving that approval, revised paper and electronic forms shall be in use.
4 Repeal. RSA 5-C:96, II(d) and (e), relative to permanent retention of the birth worksheet, are repealed.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
23-0795
Revised 3/13/23
SB 105-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 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | ($0 to $169,000) | ($0 to $169,000) | ($0 to $169,000) |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Vital Records Administration Fund | |||
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COUNTY: |
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Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill removes class B felony penalties and violations penalties for certain criteria pertaining to a mother's worksheet and refusal of consent for disclosure of certain items. It also repeals RSA 5-C:96, II(d) and (e), relative to permanent retention of the birth worksheet. Lastly it requires, no later than January 1, 2024, the Division of Vital Records, in consultation with the Division of Public Health Services, hospitals, and freestanding birth centers, to present revised mother and facility worksheet forms and a signature document for the mother's consent to disclosure of identifiable health information contained in the facility worksheet to the oversight committee on health and human services for approval.
The Department of State indicates requiring the Division of Vital Records Administration to update its paper forms will not have an impact as those form changes are regularly recorded by the Division. However, the Department states updating the electronic forms has an estimated cost of $100,000 in FY 2024. The Department also notes currently the Division has a contract with the CDD, the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program Contract, which requires the Division to share vital record information from the birth form. Changing the data reported to the CDC may cause NH to default on the contract resulting in a potential loss in contract revenue going into the Vital Records Administration Fund of $169,000 per a year. This fund is used to pay personnel costs in vital records. Any lost revenue in this fund would need to be supported by the General Funds to cover the costs.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) states in the extreme instance allowing access to aggregated, de-identified and accurate birth certificate worksheet data is reduced or incomplete the result could be the loss of federal funding that supports the work of the state’s CDC Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, CDC’s Preventing Maternal Deaths through the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the Health Resources and Services Administrations Title V Block Grant activities, Maternal and Child Health State Systems Development Initiative, Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act programming. If that were to happen the estimate cost in grants of $8m (see details below) could be placed in jeopardy.
- HRSA MCH/Title V Block grant $1,981,378 (annual)
- CDC Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System $160,020 (annual)
- CDC Preventing Maternal Deaths: Supporting Maternal Mortality Review Committees $150,000 (annual)
- HRSA State Systems Development Initiative (SSDI) $160,000 (annual)
- HRSA Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting grant $3,004,211 (annual)
- Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) $1,825,000 (5 year grant to DCYF)
This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges would not 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 2023 | FY 2024 through 12/31/23 | FY 2024 (Starting 1/1/24 with repeal of Felonies First) | ||||||||
Violation and Misdemeanor Level Offense | $119 | $122 | $122 | ||||||||
Complex Felony Case | $3,195 | $3,244 | $3,366 | ||||||||
Routine Criminal Case | $644 | $657 | $779 | ||||||||
Appeals | Varies | Varies | Varies | ||||||||
Judicial Council | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | |||||||||
Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. | |||||||||
Contract Attorney - Felony | $825/Case $105 administrative fee $200 incarceration fee (If applicable) | $825/Case $105 administrative fee $200 incarceration fee (If applicable) | |||||||||
Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor | $300/Case $70 administrative fee $100 incarceration fee (If applicable) | $300/Case $70 administrative fee $100 incarceration fee (If applicable) | |||||||||
Contract Attorney - Major Crimes (aggravated felonious sexual assault, felonious sexual assault and first degree assault) | $2,490/Case $140 administrative fee $200 incarceration fee (If applicable) | $2,490/Case $140 administrative fee $200 incarceration fee (If applicable) | |||||||||
Assigned Counsel - Felony. Homicide including capital cases. Travel time to court does not count toward the cap. | $125/Hour up to $20,000 | $125/Hour up to $20,000 | |||||||||
Assigned Counsel - Major Crimes. Aggravated felonious sexual assault, felonious sexual assault, first degree assault, class A felony robbery and felony arson. Travel time to court does not count toward the cap. | $125/Hour up to $12,500 | $125/Hour up to $12,500 | |||||||||
Assigned Counsel - Felony. Travel time to court does not count toward the cap. | $90/Hour up to $5,500 | $90/Hour up to $5,500 | |||||||||
Assigned Counsel- Misdemeanor. Travel time to court does not count toward the cap. | $90/Hour up to $2,000 | $90/Hour up to $2,000 | |||||||||
Assigned Counsel - Supreme Court Appeal | $125/Hour up to $10,000 | $125/Hour up to $10,000 | |||||||||
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 of 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 2023 | FY 2024 | |||||||||
FY 2022 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $64,223 | $64,223 | |||||||||
FY 2022 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate | $6,123 | $6,123 | |||||||||
FY 2022 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $688 | $688 | |||||||||
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 2023 | FY 2024 | |||||||||
County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | |||||||||
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $105 to $125 | $105 to $125 | |||||||||
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 may be able to absorb the cost within its existing budget. However, if the Department needs to prosecute significantly fewer cases or handle less appeals, then costs will decrease by an indeterminable amount.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services, Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties
