2001 SESSION

01-0501

05/10

HOUSE BILL 548-FN-A

COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Removes the numerical limit on the number of part-time assistant attorneys general and allows senior assistant attorneys general to work part-time without losing their senior status.

II. Increases the filing fees for reports by trustees of charitable trusts.

III. Clarifies that legislative approval is required to settle a claim against the state that exceeds a percentage of the total reported general fund unrestricted revenues for the previous fiscal year.

IV. Permits the attorney general to designate any number of assistant and senior assistant attorneys general, subject to appropriation limits.

V. Increases the labor grade of the law office administrator.

VI. Permits the attorney general to designate senior investigators and a chief investigator.

VII Permits the attorney general to nominate victim witness advocates.

VIII. Allows the attorney general to move attorneys and investigators within the administrative units of the department.

IX. Changes the name of the agency from the department of justice to the department of the attorney general and makes the necessary reference changes.

X. Repeals the rulemaking requirement relative to the rape protocol kit and domestic violence protocol.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-0501

05/10

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:

1 Assistant Attorneys General; Temporary Classification; Designation of Part-Time Senior Assistant Attorneys General. Amend RSA 7:16-a, II to read as follows:

II. The attorney general may designate [up to 3 full-time] unclassified assistant attorneys general positions and unclassified senior assistant attorneys general positions as temporary, part-time positions[, provided such positions are vacant at the time of such designation]. For the duration of the designation of such positions the attorney general, with the approval of the governor and council, may hire or designate attorneys as part-time assistant attorneys general or part-time senior assistant attorneys general, provided that the per diem compensation of such employees shall not exceed the maximum equivalent per diem compensation of an assistant attorney general or senior assistant attorney general pursuant to RSA 94:1-a. The attorney general may employ part-time assistant attorneys general and senior assistant attorneys general up to the limit of funds available for the full-time positions designated by the attorney general for part-time employment. A part-time assistant attorney general or a part-time senior assistant attorney general shall be governed by the same terms and conditions of employment as a full-time assistant attorney general or senior assistant attorney general, including the prohibition of the private practice of law under RSA 7:6-d, except that a part-time assistant attorney general or a part-time senior assistant attorney general shall serve at the pleasure of the attorney general.

2 Director of Charitable Trusts; Increase in Filing Fees for Reports by Trustees of Charitable Trusts. Amend RSA 7:28-a, II to read as follows:

II. Any periodic written report required by RSA 7:28, II to be filed with the attorney general shall be accompanied by a filing fee of [$50] $75.

3 Legislative Approval of Court Claims Against the State; Clarification of Reference to General Fund Unrestricted Revenues. Amend RSA 14:35-b, I to read as follows:

I. Any settlement of a claim against the state in which the state through its attorneys agrees to a commitment with financial consequences in excess of 1/4 of one percent or more of total reported general fund unrestricted revenues for the previous fiscal year as reported by the legislative budget assistant pursuant to paragraph II shall be subject to the approval of the legislature.

4 Department of Justice; Title Changed to Department of the Attorney General. Amend the title of chapter 21-M to read as follows:

CHAPTER 21-M

DEPARTMENT OF [JUSTICE] THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

5 Attorney General; Positions Within the Department of the Attorney General. Amend RSA 21-M:3, III through VII to read as follows:

III. The attorney general, subject to the approval of the governor and council, may appoint assistant attorneys general within the limits of the appropriation made for the appointments, each of whom shall hold office for a term of 5 years. Each assistant attorney general shall be assigned to a specific position which may be moved between PAU components as required by the attorney general. Any vacancy in such office may be filled for the unexpired term. An assistant attorney general may be removed only as provided by RSA 4:1.

IV. The attorney general may designate [no more than 10] assistant attorneys general to serve as senior assistant attorneys general within the limits of the appropriation made for assistant attorney general appointments. Senior assistant attorneys general shall serve as bureau chiefs, as the director of charitable trusts, and in such other positions as the attorney general may determine. Senior assistants shall serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the attorney general. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the positions in this section shall be funded within appropriations made to the department of [justice] the attorney general for each biennium and through the salary adjustment fund, as needed.

V. The attorney general shall designate [2] assistant attorneys general to serve as associate attorneys general within the limits of the appropriation made for the appointments. Associate attorneys general shall serve as directors of the divisions of public protection and legal counsel and in such other positions as the attorney general may determine. Associate attorneys general shall serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the attorney general.

VI. The attorney general may appoint a law office administrator for the office of attorney general, in accordance with state personnel rules and the appropriation made for the appointment. The law office administrator shall be a classified employee and shall be classified at least at labor grade [32 ] 34.

VII. The attorney general may nominate, subject to confirmation by the governor and council, criminal justice investigators and consumer protection investigators within the limits of the appropriations made for the appointments, each of whom shall serve for a 5-year term. Each investigator shall be assigned to a specific position which may be moved between PAU components as required by the attorney general. A criminal justice investigator or a consumer protection investigator may be removed only as provided by RSA 4:1.

VIII. The attorney general may designate, within the limits of the appropriation made for the appointments, criminal justice investigators and consumer protection investigators to serve as senior investigators. The attorney general also may designate an investigator from either the criminal bureau or the consumer protection bureau to serve as the chief investigator.

IX. The attorney general may nominate, subject to confirmation by the governor and council, victim witness advocates within the limits of the appropriation made for the appointments, each of whom shall serve for a 5-year term. A victim witness advocate may be removed only as provided by RSA 4:1.

6 Department of Justice; Compensation; General Reference to Investigator and Victim Witness Advocate Added. Amend RSA 21-M:4 to read as follows:

21-M:4 Compensation. The annual salary of the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, the associate attorneys general, the senior assistant attorneys general, each assistant attorney general, each [criminal justice] investigator, and [each consumer protection investigator] each victim witness advocate shall be that prescribed by RSA 94:1-a.

7 Salary for Victim Witness Advocates, Department of the Attorney General. Amend 94:1-a, I by inserting in group J the following:

Victim witness advocates, department of the attorney general

8 Salary for Senior Investigators, Department of the Attorney General. Amend 94:1-a, I by inserting in group L the following:

Senior investigator, department of the attorney general

9 Salary for Chief Investigator, Department of the Attorney General. Amend 94:1-a, I by inserting in group M the following:

Chief investigator, department of the attorney general

10 Reference Changes. Amend the following RSA provisions by replacing "department of justice" or "justice department" with "department of the attorney general": RSA 7:6-d; 7:13; 7:16; 21-M:2; 21-M:3; 21-M:5; 21-M:8-a; 21-M:8-b; 21-M:8-c; 21-M:8-d; 21-M:8-f; 125-F:22; 137-F:21; 137-F:24; 147-E:6; 147-F:2; 147-F:4; 147-F:6; 147-F:10; 147-F:12; 161-F:51; 161-F:57; 162-F:17; 169-C:37; 169-C:39-d; 178:20; 198:49; 205-A:2; 205-A:12; 205-A:29; 205-A:30; 228:75; 237:12; 281-A:30; 281-A:55; 281-A:59; 284:15-b; 304-A:50; 309-B:4; 309-B:16; 316-A:3; 318-B:17-b; 318-B:17-c; 318-B:17-d; 318-B:17-e; 328-F:24; 354-A:5; 356:9; 356-A:2; 356-A:20; 356-B:48; 356-B:69; 357-D:4; 357-D:9; 358-A:4; 358-A:8; 358-D:11; 358-H:8; 358-I:2; 358-I:3; 358-Q:2; 359-D:10; 359-E:2; 361-D:27; 382-A:2-329; 383:11-a; 384:36; 505:11; 570-B:7; 611-A:1; 611-A:8; 622:54; 622:55; 630:1; 632-A:9.

11 Repeal. RSA 21-M:8-d, relative to the standardized rape protocol kit and domestic violence protocol, is repealed.

12 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

LBAO

01-0501

2/5/01

HB 548-FN-A - FISCAL NOTE

FISCAL IMPACT: