HB 0565

This bill makes the selling, bartering, furnishing, delivering, or giving away liquor or beverage to a person under the age of 21 a felony if the person under the age of 21 becomes intoxicated and causes or suffers death or great bodily harm as a result of the intoxication.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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

1 Alcoholic Beverages; Enforcement, Requirements, and Penalties; Prohibited Sales; Penalty Added. Amend RSA 179:5 to read as follows:

I. No licensee, salesperson, direct shipper, common carrier, delivery agent, nor any other person, shall sell, barter, furnish, deliver, or give away or cause or allow or procure to be sold, bartered, furnished, delivered, or given away any liquor or beverage to a person under the age of 21 or to an intoxicated individual. For all deliveries of packages by common carrier or delivery agent marked "alcoholic beverages" or "alcoholic products," the addressee shall sign a delivery receipt. In no case shall any section of this title be so construed as to permit sale of liquor or beverages in any so-called saloon or speakeasy.

II. No licensee, manager, or person in charge of a licensed premises shall allow or permit any individual, who is under the age of 21, to possess or consume any liquor or beverage on the licensed premises.

III. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 179:58, any person who violates the provisions of paragraph I by selling, bartering, furnishing, delivering, or giving away any liquor or beverage to a person under the age of 21 shall, if the person under the age of 21 becomes intoxicated and causes or suffers death or great bodily harm as a result of the intoxication, be guilty of a felony.

The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill relative to liability for providing alcoholic beverages will have any no fiscal impact on the Judicial Branch.

The Judicial Council stated this bill expands the list of events which may result in a class B felony charge being sought against an individual. This produces an impact on more felony cases on the indigent defense caseload. For purposes of determining the fiscal impact, it is 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 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 2000 was $20,557 per inmate. The average cost of probation/parole supervision was $840 per inmate.

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

The Liquor Commission has stated this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Commission.