30jan03...0020h

04/03/03 1015s

2003 SESSION

03-0072

04/09

HOUSE BILL 64

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes a commission to study the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system and any issues related to the privacy, security, and dissemination of such criminal justice information.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

30jan03...0020h

04/03/03 1015s

03-0072

04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

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

24:1 Findings and Intent. The general court finds that:

I. Over the last 20 years, computerized record keeping systems have gradually replaced paper records for many purposes such as commercial transactions between and among business enterprises, retail transactions between and among consumers, retailers, lenders, banks, advertisers, records of the provision of and payment for health care services between and among patients, physicians, insurers, and health maintenance organizations.

II. Recently, the Interbranch Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission (ICJJC) has sponsored an effort to study and implement a system to gradually replace paper records in the criminal justice system with computer-based documents that can improve the integrity and efficiency of criminal justice information systems, by allowing data relating to the institution, progress, and disposition of criminal cases to be shared, stored, received, and, under appropriate circumstances, disseminated electronically.

III. The establishment of an integrated criminal justice information system would be structured to provide a balance between the purposes of the system and the needs for individual privacy in disputed matters, to protect the integrity and accuracy of information stored by government institutions and agencies about individual citizens, to promote rehabilitation of offenders, and to ensure that information stored by government institutions and agencies is used and disseminated in a manner consistent with our evolving values of democratic governance.

IV. Particular care and attention shall be afforded to the effect of any such integrated criminal justice system on the rights of individuals guaranteed under the New Hampshire constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

24:2 Commission Established. There is established a commission to study the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system and any issues related to the privacy, security, and dissemination of such criminal justice information.

I. The members of the commission shall be as follows:

(a) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.

(b) Three members of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the finance committee and one of whom shall be a member of the criminal justice and public safety committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(c) The commissioner of the department of safety, or designee.

(d) The commissioner of the department of corrections, or designee.

(e) The attorney general, or designee.

(f) The chief justice of the supreme court, or designee.

(g) The director of the administrative office of the courts, or designee.

(h) The executive director of the New Hampshire Public Defender Program, or designee

(i) The executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, or designee

(j) The president of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, or designee

(k) The president of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, or designee.

(l) A representative of a victim's advocacy group appointed by the governor.

(m) The president of the New Hampshire Association of Counties - County Corrections Superintendents Affiliate, or designee.

(o) The director of the New Hampshire police standards and training council, or designee.

(n) The United States attorney for New Hampshire, or designee.

II. Duties. The commission shall:

(a) Study whether the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system would promote the efficiency of state government by reducing the cost of collecting, retrieving, and, under appropriate circumstances, disseminating important information about the individuals, charges, progress, and disposition of criminal cases.

(b) Study whether the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system would improve public safety and domestic security by allowing criminal justice agencies and authorized individuals to record, share, retrieve, and analyze important information collected about criminal charges and their disposition, and by improving dissemination of information pertaining to bail conditions.

(c) Study whether the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system would promote the administration of justice for all citizens by increasing the efficiency of collecting and maintaining criminal justice information and by improving the accuracy, timeliness, and transmission of information among criminal justice agencies and authorized individuals.

(d) Study whether the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system would require a review of RSA 106-B to determine if existing law should be amended to allow attorneys representing individuals charged with criminal offenses to have electronic access to criminal records, and the parameters under which such information should be available.

(e) Study whether the creation of an integrated criminal justice information system would provide opportunities for the public to obtain information regarding their own transactions with public agencies and institutions, and allow the public, the general court, researchers, and victim advocates to better evaluate the functioning of public institutions through the dissemination of appropriate information about the functioning of the criminal justice system.

(f) Study the effect of any such integrated criminal justice system on the privacy rights and other rights of individuals guaranteed under the New Hampshire constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

(g) Solicit information from any source deemed relevant to its work.

III. Legislative members of the commission shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the commission.

IV. The members of the commission shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the commission shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Six members of the commission shall constitute a quorum.

V. The commission shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, senate president, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2003.

24:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

(Approved: Enacted in accordance with Article 44, Part II of N.H. Constitution, without signature of Governor, April 26, 2003)

(Effective Date: April 26, 2003)