Bill Text: NH SB262 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to the property interest in abandoned personal materials.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-06-05 - Lay on Table (Rep. Ley): Motion Adopted Voice Vote 06/05/2019 House Journal 17 P. 71 [SB262 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2019-SB262-Amended.html
SB 262-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/14/2019 0823s
2019 SESSION
19-0875
10/04
SENATE BILL 262-FN
AN ACT relative to the property interest in abandoned personal materials.
SPONSORS: Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a property interest in abandoned personal materials and procedures for government concerning such materials.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/14/2019 0823s 19-0875
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT relative to the property interest in abandoned personal materials.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Breach of Peace and Related Offenses; Violation of Property Interest in Abandoned Personal Materials. Amend RSA 644 by inserting after section 22 the following new section:
644:23 Property Interest in Abandoned Personal Materials.
I. In this section:
(a) "Abandoned personal materials" means physical items owned, possessed or used by an individual and abandoned intentionally or unintentionally in private or public places.
(b) "Government" means the federal government, the state government, and its political subdivisions, and state and municipal agencies and departments, including employees, agents, and contractors.
(c) "Individual" means a living human being.
(d) "Informational content" includes an individual's name, date or place of birth, social security number, address, employment history, credit history, financial information, account numbers, cellular telephone numbers, voice over Internet protocol or landline telephone numbers, biometric identifiers, including fingerprints, facial photographs, or images, retinal scans, DNA/RNA, genetic sequences, the content of messages, and other identifying data.
II.(a) The informational content contained in or on abandoned personal material is the property of the individual to whom it pertains regardless of its abandonment.
(b) Subject to the exceptions in paragraph III, no government shall acquire, collect, retain, or use that informational content. Nothing in this section shall prevent or exclude law enforcement, pursuant to existing legal authority, from taking physical possession of property containing abandoned personal material.
(c) Informational content obtained in violation of this section shall not be admissible in a criminal, civil, administrative, or other proceeding, except as proof of a violation of this section.
III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph II, nothing in this section shall limit the acquisition, collection, retention, or use of the informational content of abandoned personal materials:
(a) Pursuant to a warrant supported by probable cause pursuant to Part I, Art. 19 of the New Hampshire constitution or a judicially recognized exception to the warrant requirement;
(b) By a law enforcement agency at a crime scene or through examination and analysis of such crime scene materials by forensic laboratories; or
(c) By the judicial branch or any state regulatory or other agency within the branch's or agency's statutory adjudicatory or regulatory function.
IV. If the government acquires, collects, retains, or uses the informational content pursuant to paragraph III, directly or indirectly, it shall acquire, collect, retain, or use such informational content only for the specific purpose for which it was acquired, collected, or retained.
V. If federal law preempts any provision of this section, such provision shall not apply to the federal government.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
19-0875
1/23/19
SB 262-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the violation of a property interest in abandoned personal materials.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable Increase | 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 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes the property interest in abandoned personal materials. 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 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 |
Class B Misdemeanor | $53 | $54 |
Routine Criminal Felony Case | $481 | $486 |
Complex Civil Case | $774 | $782 |
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. | ||
Judicial Council |
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Public Defender Program | Has contract with State to provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. |
Contract Attorney – Felony | $825/Case | $825/Case |
Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor | $300/Case | $300/Case |
Assigned Counsel – Felony | $60/Hour up to $4,100 | $60/Hour up to $4,100 |
Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor | $60/Hour up to $1,400 | $60/Hour up to $1,400 |
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 |
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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 |
NH Association of Counties |
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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
