SB 130-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/07/2019 0630s
2019 SESSION
19-0970
04/01
SENATE BILL 130-FN
SPONSORS: Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Feltes, Dist 15; Sen. Gray, Dist 6; Sen. Levesque, Dist 12; Sen. Morgan, Dist 23; Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Rep. Marsh, Carr. 8; Rep. MacDonald, Carr. 6; Rep. Hinch, Hills. 21; Rep. DesMarais, Carr. 6
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes 2 attorney positions in the department of justice and 2 state trooper positions in the department of safety who shall be assigned to the cold case homicide unit. The positions are established and funded for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/07/2019 0630s 19-0970
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Cold Case Homicide Unit; Positions Established.
I. There are hereby established within the department of justice for the biennium ending June 30, 2021, 2 full-time, unclassified attorney positions who shall be assigned to the department's cold case homicide unit established in RSA 21-M:8-m to work exclusively on unsolved murders in the state. The salary for each of these positions shall be determined after assessment and review of the appropriate temporary salary grade in RSA 94:1-a, I(c) which shall be conducted pursuant to RSA 94:1-d and RSA 14:14-c. The department of justice shall fund these positions from the department's biennial operating budget.
II. There are hereby established within the department of safety, division of state police, for the biennium ending June 30, 2021, 2 full-time, classified state police positions who shall be assigned to the department of justice, cold case homicide unit established in RSA 21-M:8-m to work exclusively on unsolved murders in the state. One position shall be established at the rank of sergeant and one position established shall be at the rank of trooper first class. The compensation for each position shall be determined pursuant to RSA 21-I and the collective bargaining agreement. The department of safety shall fund these positions from the department's biennial operating budget.
2 Repeal. Section 1 of this act, relative to positions established in the cold case homicide unit, is repealed.
I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect June 30, 2021.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
19-0970
Revised 2/11/19
SB 130-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT establishing positions within the cold case homicide unit.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $220,000* | $224,000* | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
*Expenditures would exceed these amounts if increased prosecutions or convictions occurred.
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes two attorney positions in the cold case homicide unit in the Department of Justice to work exclusively on unsolved murders in the state. The Department assumes the positions will be funded for the FY 2020-2021 fiscal years and the ongoing need would be evaluated in future budget cycles. The Department indicates there would be no revenue generated as a result of the bill and estimated the cost of the positions would be $220,000 in FY 2020 and $224,000 in FY 2021.
The Judicial Council reports this bill will increase state expenditures for the indigent defense system under two conditions: 1) the additional attorneys established in this bill result in more prosecutions of the approximately 128 cold cases in NH; and 2) the defendants being prosecuted cannot afford an attorney. The Council reports an average homicide takes approximately 635 total attorney hours in the public defense system. Some elasticity exists in the Public Defender Program to absorb additional cases without an increase in state appropriations. However, the Council reports cold cases are significantly more labor intensive due to: witnesses being difficult to locate; memories are not as fresh; the quality of physical evidence may have deteriorated, which may require expert services; and cases are more likely to go to trail due to issues with evidence. While the Council predicts most cases prosecuted would be assigned attorneys within the Public Defender Program, a prosecution with multiple co-defendants would be appointed under the assigned council program. The assigned counsel is reimbursed at a rate of $100 an hour for homicides and other serious felonies. The Council has limited examples of cold cases paid within assigned council program. However, two recent cases with assigned counsel, which were not technically cold cases but had delayed prosecutions, cost approximately $200,000 per case in legal representation and expert services.
In addition to impacts on the Judicial Council, this bill contains penalties that may have an impact on other aspects of 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 2020 | FY 2021 |
Complex Criminal Case | $933 | $939 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2020 and FY 2021 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. | ||
Department of Corrections |
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FY 2018 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $40,615 | $40,615 |
FY 2018 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate | $4,620 | $4,620 |
FY 2018 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $571 | $571 |
When the Department of Justice is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department is involved an a significant amount of appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Justice, Judicial Council, Judicial Branch, and Department of Corrections