HB 360-FN - AS INTRODUCED
1999 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 360-FN
AN ACT clarifying that any person convicted of a felony in this state is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and other dangerous weapons.
SPONSORS: Rep. Murphy, Hills 42; Rep. Pepino, Hills 40
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill clarifies that any person convicted of a felony in this state is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and other dangerous weapons.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0641
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT clarifying that any person convicted of a felony in this state is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and other dangerous weapons.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Convicted Felons; Prohibition on Owning or Possessing Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons. Amend RSA 159:3, I to read as follows:
I. A person is guilty of a class B felony if [he] such person:
(a) Owns or has in [his] such person's possession or under [his] such person's control, a pistol, revolver, or other firearm, or slungshot, metallic knuckles, billies, stiletto, switchblade knife, sword cane, pistol cane, blackjack, dagger, dirk-knife, or any other dangerous weapon; and
(b) Has been convicted in either a state or federal court in this or any other state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States of:
(1) [A felony against the person or property of another] A criminal offense for which such person has been sentenced to a state prison fore more than one year; or
(2) [A felony under RSA 318-B; or
(3)] A felony violation of the laws of any other state, the District of Columbia, the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or possession of the United States [relating to controlled drugs as defined in RSA 318-B].
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.
LBAO
99-0641
1/25/99
HB 360-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT clarifying that any person convicted of a felony in the state is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and other dangerous weapons.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Judicial Council and the Department of Corrections have determined this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2000 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The AOC stated this bill clarifies that it is a class B felony for any person convicted of a felony to own or possess firearms or dangerous weapons. It is not anticipated that this bill will significantly impact caseload or have a significant fiscal impact on the judicial branch.
The Judicial Council is unable to predict the actual number of occurrences of this charge which may result, thus, no actual cost can be determined. However, due to the clarification of the law there may be increased caseload. The case would most likely be handled by the public defender in the first instance or a contract attorney, both of whom handle the case on a fixed fee basis. In this case, $605 per felony case is the standard contract rate. If the case must be handled by an assigned counsel attorney due to conflict, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $3,000, would prevail. There may be additional costs from "services other than counsel".
The Department of Corrections is unable to predict how many individuals, if any, would be incarcerated as a result of this legislation. The average cost of incarceration for FY 1998 was $19,029 per inmate. The average cost of probation and parole supervision in FY 1998 was $833 per offender.