SB 88 -FN - AS INTRODUCED
1999 SESSION
SENATE BILL 88-FN
AN ACT relative to penalties for third driving while intoxicated offenses.
SPONSORS: Sen. Francoeur, Dist 14; Sen. Brown, Dist 17; Sen. Krueger, Dist 16
This bill requires that a person convicted of a third DWI offense be sentenced to one year in prison.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0517
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT relative to penalties for third driving while intoxicated offenses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Third DWI Conviction; Mandatory One Year Prison Sentence. Amend RSA 265:82-b, II(b)(2) to read as follows:
(2) If the person has completed the state-operated 7-day multiple DWI offender intervention detention center program as required under subparagraph (a)(3) upon conviction for a prior offense, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than [30 consecutive 24-hour periods] one year, and shall complete at the person's own expense a residential treatment program of at least 28 days duration or an intensive course of substance abuse treatment based upon a formal evaluation by a licensed alcohol and other drug counselor and approved by the department of health and human services before the driver's license may be restored.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.
LBAO
99-0517
1/18/99
SB 88 -FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to penalties for third driving while intoxicated offenses.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Judicial Council and the Department of Corrections stated this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2000 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The AOC indicates that district and superior courts will incur an undetermined increase in costs due to a caseload increase because of the proposed minimum one year sentence.
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, there are significant numbers of third offense DWI cases which now will require the appointment of counsel, where none were previously required. Assuming the cases are handled by the public defender and contract attorneys, the flat fee of $220 per case (or $330 for a jury trial) would apply. Additionally, there would be an increase in the amount spent for blood testing and lab work paid by "services other than counsel". If the case is handled by assigned counsel, the fee cap of $1,000, at the $60 per hour rate would apply.
The Department of Corrections is unable to predict how many individuals would have their sentence extended as a result of the increase in the minimum sentence. Individuals sentenced up to one year would serve their term in a county facility. The average cost of incarceration in a state facility in FY 1998 was $19,029 per inmate. The average cost of probation/parole supervision was $833.