26apr01...0876h

2001 SESSION

01-0024

09/10

HOUSE BILL 252

AN ACT relative to rules promulgated by the supreme court.

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill provides that rules promulgated by the supreme court have the force and effect of law and may be changed by statute, and requires that supreme court rulemaking procedures comply with the right to know law. This bill takes effect only if CACR 5 of the 2001 legislative session is adopted in the 2002 general election.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

26apr01...0876h

01-0024

09/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

AN ACT relative to rules promulgated by the supreme court.

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

1 New Section; Supreme Court; Rules of Practice and Procedure and Rules of Evidence; Power to Prescribe. Amend RSA 490 by inserting after section 4-a the following new section:

490:4-b Rules of Procedure and Evidence; Power to Prescribe.

I. The supreme court shall have the power to prescribe rules of practice and procedure and rules of evidence to be followed in all courts of this state. All such rules in effect prior to the effective date of this section shall remain in full force and effect, except as they may be changed by statute or by rule of court pursuant to this section.

II. The rules described in paragraph I shall not abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive right. All preexisting laws, which conflict with the proposed rules, shall be of no further force and effect after such rules have taken effect.

III. The rulemaking procedures of the supreme court shall be subject to the provisions of the right to know law, RSA 91-A, except that the failure to comply with RSA 91-A shall not invalidate a rule adopted under this section.

IV. The supreme court shall transmit to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate a copy of all rules, including emergency rules, at the time that they are promulgated by the court. Each rule so transmitted shall include a provision addressing the extent to which the rule shall apply to proceedings then pending before any court, a list of any statute that will conflict with the rule, as well as an explanatory note concerning the purpose of, and need for, the proposed rule. The transmission shall also include any minority views of justices or committee or subcommittee members concerning the proposed rule.

2 Contingency. If a constitutional amendment is adopted by the voters in the 2002 election which provides that the supreme court may adopt rules that have the force and effect of law, and that the general court may regulate these matters by statute and may accept or reject any rule adopted by the supreme court, and that in the event of a conflict between a statute and a rule, the statute shall supersede the rule, section 1 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2003. If such a constitutional amendment is not adopted, then section 1 of this act shall not take effect.

3 Effective Date.

I. Section 1 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 2 of this act.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.