0300-hb 1570

This bill requires probationers and parolees from other states to receive permission from a designated officer to remain in the state, and if not granted permission to remain, to leave the state within 7 days or be guilty of a class B felony.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

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

300:1 New Paragraphs; Lawful Presence of Parolees and Probationers in the State. Amend RSA 651-A:25 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraphs:

IX. An individual who is on parole or probation in another state, who is present in this state without the permission of the officer of this state designated under paragraph V of this section, and who does not leave this state within 7 days after being notified in writing by a law enforcement officer that the individual may not remain in this state without the permission of the designated officer, is guilty of a class B felony.

X. Within 24 hours after a law enforcement officer has notified an individual that he or she may not remain within the state without the permission of the designated officer, the law enforcement officer shall report the notification to the designated officer. An individual who is on parole or probation in another state may not remain in this state without the permission of the officer of this state designated under paragraph V of this section. In a prosecution for an offense under this section, an individual's good faith belief that he or she had received permission to be present in this state is an affirmative defense if the individual acted in reasonable reliance upon the written statements of an authorized officer of this state or the state in which the individual is on parole or probation. This defense is not available to a person who remains present in this state after being notified in writing by the designated officer of this state that the individual does not have permission to be present.

The Administrative Office of the Courts, Judicial Council, and the Department of Corrections have determined this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2001 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or on state, county and local revenue.

The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill creates a new class B felony offense. The Office has determined the legislation will have little, if any, fiscal impact on the Branch as it will not significantly impact caseload.

The Judicial Council assumed that any cases arising from the enactment of this law for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will, in the first instance be handled by the Public Defender or contract attorneys who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $687.50 for each felony charge. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $3,000 for felony cases will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or "services other than counsel" are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. The Council added, the population who will be affected by this legislation is likely to be the among the most predictable indigent. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases or trials which may arise as a result of the passage of this legislation, therefor, they are unable to estimate the dollar amount of the anticipated costs of such representation.

The Department of Corrections is unable to predict how many, if any, individuals would be incarcerated as result of this legislation. The average cost of incarceration for FY 1999 was $19,388 per inmate. The average cost of probation/parole supervision was $842 per inmate.

The Department of Justice has stated this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department.