6/12/01 1595s

26june01...1757CofC

2001 SESSION

01-0790

08/10

HOUSE BILL 277-LOCAL

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill establishes that a person who violates any requirement created by statute or municipal regulation enacted pursuant to an enabling statute, where the statute neither specifies the penalty or offense classification, shall be deemed to be guilty of a violation.

This bill also provides that the owner or keeper of a dog who fails to license a dog or renew a dog license may be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine of not more than $100, if the owner or keeper fails to pay the $25 civil forfeiture penalty.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

6/12/01 1595s

26june01...1757CofC

01-0790

08/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

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

274:1 Statement of Intent. The legislature finds that there are many laws establishing mandatory requirements, contravention of which was clearly intended to be a punishable offense, but for which the legislature failed to set forth any specific offense classification or penalty. Further, the legislature finds that there are many laws enabling municipalities to adopt ordinances or regulations, without providing for a penalty if there is an infraction. This lack of penalty specification has created difficulties for enforcement officials, making the requirements of the statute or ordinance practically unenforceable. The legislature finds that the breach of these statutes and ordinances should be treated as violations, which are not criminal offenses, and which is consistent with the criminal code's policy to treat all otherwise unclassified offenses as violations.

274:2 Regulation of Hawkers, Peddlers, and Vendors; Enforcement of Ordinances and Regulations. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 31:102-a to read as follows:

31:102-a Hawkers, Peddlers and Vendors. The governing board of a city, town or village district may adopt, by ordinance or regulation, provisions for the licensure and regulation of itinerant vendors, hawkers, peddlers, traders, farmers, merchants, or other persons who sell, offer to sell, or take orders for merchandise from temporary or transient sales locations within a town or who go from town to town or place to place within a town for such purposes. Any person who violates any provision of such ordinance or regulation shall be guilty of a violation, and each continuing day of violation after notice shall constitute a separate offense. A city, town, or village district shall be specifically prohibited, however, from licensing or regulating a candidate for public office in the process of obtaining signatures on nomination papers, who seeks to have [his] the candidate's name placed on the ballot for the state general election by submitting nomination papers under RSA 655:40. Provisions adopted under this section shall be in addition to any requirements imposed by the state under either RSA 320 or RSA 321 and may include, but shall not be limited to:

274:3 New Section; Regulation of Highways, Commons, and Other Municipal Property; Enforcement of Regulations. Amend RSA 41 by inserting after section 11-a the following new section:

41:11-b Enforcement of Regulations. Any person who violates a regulation established under RSA 41:11 or 41:11-a, and for which no penalty is otherwise provided under title XXI pertaining to motor vehicles, shall be guilty of a violation.

274:4 New Section; Minimum Housing Standards; Enforcement of Minimum Standards. Amend RSA 48-A by inserting after section 14 the following new section:

48-A:15 Enforcement of Minimum Standards. In municipalities which have not established a public agency as described in RSA 48-A:3, a violation of the minimum standards set forth in RSA 48-A:14 shall be a violation, and each continuing day of violation after notice shall be a separate offense.

274:5 New Paragraph; Classification of Crimes; Offenses with Unspecified Penalty Classified as Violations. Amend RSA 625:9 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

V-a. The violation of any requirement created by statute or by municipal regulation enacted pursuant to an enabling statute, where the statute neither specifies the penalty or offense classification, shall be deemed a violation, and the penalties to be imposed by the court shall be those provided for a violation under RSA 651:2.

274:6 Licensing of Dogs; Penalties. Amend RSA 466:13 to read as follows:

466:13 Forfeiture. Whoever is the owner or keeper of a dog and who fails to license or renew the dog license pursuant to RSA 466:1 shall[, after notice provided pursuant to RSA 466:14,] forfeit $25 to the town or city clerk of the municipality in which the dog is kept. If the forfeiture is not made to the town or city clerk within 15 calendar days of the notice of forfeiture, the case [shall] may be disposed of in a district court [or municipal court] as a violation with a fine not to exceed $50, notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 651:2, IV. [This] A forfeiture shall not relieve the owner or keeper of the requirement of proper licensing of the dog as required by RSA 466:1. This section shall also apply to cats, if the municipality licenses cats. Any forfeitures collected under this section may be retained by the city or town for the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

274:7 Warrants; Proceedings. Amend RSA 466:14 to read as follows:

466:14 Warrants; Proceedings. The town or city clerk shall annually, between June 1 and June 20, present to the local governing body a list of those owners of dogs that have failed to license or not renewed their dog licenses pursuant to RSA 466:1. The local governing body shall, within 20 days from June 20, issue a warrant to a local official authorized to issue a civil forfeiture for each unlicensed dog. The warrant may also authorize a local law enforcement officer to seize any unlicensed dog. The civil forfeiture may be sent by certified mail, or delivered in hand, or left at the abode of the dog owner. The cost of service shall not exceed $5 and may be recovered by the city or town in addition to the amount of the civil forfeiture. If the [licensed] unlicensed dog is seized, it shall be held in a town or city holding facility for a period of 7 days, after which time full title to the dog shall pass to the facility, unless the owner of the dog has, before the expiration of the period, caused the dog to be licensed. The owner shall pay the facility a necessary and reasonable sum per day, as agreed upon by the governing body of the town or city and the facility, for each day the dog has been kept and maintained by the facility, plus any necessary veterinary fees incurred by the facility for the benefit of the dog. Before a local law enforcement officer seizes any unlicensed dog, a written warning shall be given to the dog owner.

274:8 Effective Date.

I. Sections 6 and 7 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

(Approved: July 16, 2001)

(Effective Date: I. Sections 6 and 7 shall take effect July 16, 2001.