2001 SESSION

01-2023

03/10

HOUSE BILL 1261-FN

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill increases certain penalties for intoxication or under influence of drugs offenses.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-2023

03/10

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 Penalties for Intoxication or Under Influence of Drugs Offenses. Amend RSA 265:82-b, I to read as follows:

I. Except as otherwise provided in this section:

(a) Any person who is convicted of any offense under RSA 215-A:11, I or RSA 265:82 shall be:

(1) Guilty of a [violation] misdemeanor;

(2) Fined not less than [$350] $500; and

(3) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked for not less than 90 days and, at the discretion of the court, such revocation may be extended for a period not to exceed 2 years.

(b) Any person who is convicted of any aggravated DWI offense under RSA 215-A:11, II, or RSA 265:82-a, except as provided in subparagraph (c), shall be:

(1) Guilty of a class A misdemeanor;

(2) Fined not less than [$500] $1,000 nor more than $2,000; and

(3) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked for not less than 1 year and, at the discretion of the court, such revocation may be extended for a period not to exceed 2 years.

(c) Any person who is convicted of aggravated DWI under RSA 215-A:11, II(a)(1) or II(b)(1), or RSA 265:82-a, I(b) or II(b), shall be:

(1) Guilty of a class B felony;

(2) Fined not less than [$1,000] $2,000; and

(3) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked for not less than 1 year and, at the discretion of the court, such revocation may be extended for a period not to exceed 2 years.

2 Penalties for Intoxication or Under Influence of Drugs Offenses. Amend RSA 265:82-b, II to read as follows:

II. Upon conviction of any offense under RSA 215-A:11, RSA 265:82, or RSA 265:82-a, based on a complaint which alleged that the person has had one or more prior convictions under RSA 215-A:11, RSA 265:82, or RSA 265:82-a, or RSA 630:3, II, or under reasonably equivalent offenses in an out-of-state jurisdiction, within 10 years preceding the date of the second or subsequent offense, the person shall be subject to the following penalties in addition to those provided in paragraph I:

(a) For a second offense:

(1) The person shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

(2) The person shall be fined not less than [$500] $1,000.

(3) The person shall be sentenced to a mandatory sentence of not less than 10 consecutive days of which 3 consecutive 24-hour periods shall be served in the county correctional facility and 7 consecutive 24-hour periods shall be served at the state-operated 7-day multiple DWI offender intervention detention center established under RSA 172-B:2-b within 21 days after conviction or at the end of the defendant's appeals period, except that in circumstances where the state-operated 7-day multiple DWI offender intervention detention center has no available space the person shall be assigned the first available space.

(4) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked for not less than 3 years.

(5) The person shall pay a fee to the commissioner, as established under RSA 126-A:43, for the costs of the state-operated, 7-day multiple DWI offender intervention detention center program.

(6) A defendant who fails to complete the program shall be in contempt of court and shall serve a minimum of 30 days in the county correctional facility.

(b) For a third offense, any person convicted under this paragraph shall be subject to all the penalties of subparagraph (a) except that:

(1) The person shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(2) The person shall be fined not less than $2,000.

(3) The person shall be placed on probation for a period of one year, during which time the person shall demonstrate active participation in an established support group.

(4) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked indefinitely and shall not be restored for at least 5 years. At the end of the 5-year minimum revocation period the person may petition the court for eligibility to reapply for a driver's license and the court, for good cause shown, may grant such eligibility subject to such terms and conditions as the court may prescribe. Any untimely petition under this subparagraph shall be dismissed without a hearing. If such petition is granted and the person is otherwise eligible for license restoration, the person may then apply to the director for restoration of driver's license, but the license shall not be restored until the provisions of RSA 263:65-a and all other requirements under law are met.

[(2)] (5) 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, 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.

(c) For a fourth or subsequent offense, any person convicted under this paragraph shall be subject to all the penalties of subparagraphs (a) and (b) except that:

(1) The person shall be guilty of a felony[, and].

(2) The person shall be fined not less than $3,000.

(3) The person shall be sentenced to a mandatory sentence of not less than 90 consecutive days in the county correctional facility.

(4) The person shall be placed on probation for a period of 2 years, during which time the person shall demonstrate active participation in an established support group.

(5) The person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked indefinitely and the person shall not petition for eligibility to reapply for a driver's license as provided in subparagraph [(b)(1)] (b)(4) for at least 7 years.

(d) For a third or subsequent offense when any prior offense under this paragraph is negligent homicide under RSA 630:3, II, or reasonably equivalent offense in an out-of-state jurisdiction, the person convicted under this paragraph shall be subject to all the penalties of subparagraphs (a) and (b) except that the person's driver's license or privilege to drive shall be revoked indefinitely and the person shall not petition for eligibility to reapply for a driver's license as provided in subparagraph [(b)(1)] (b)(4) for at least 10 years.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2003.

LBAO

01-2023

9/19/01

HB 1261-FN - FISCAL NOTE

FISCAL IMPACT: