17Mar2004… 0781h

04/22/04 1187s

25May2004… 1614CofC

2004 SESSION

03-2250

04/09

HOUSE BILL 1380-FN

AN ACT relative to unauthorized video surveillance.

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill revises the provisions of the violation of privacy statute relative to unauthorized video surveillance.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

17Mar2004… 0781h

04/22/04 1187s

25May2004… 1614CofC

03-2250

04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to unauthorized video surveillance.

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

212:1 Breach of Peace; Violation of Privacy. RSA 644:9, I-II is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if such person unlawfully and without the consent of the persons entitled to privacy therein, installs or uses:

(a) Any device for the purpose of observing, photographing, recording, amplifying, broadcasting, or in any way transmitting images or sounds of the private body parts of a person including the genitalia, buttocks, or female breasts, or a person’s body underneath that person’s clothing; or

(b) In any private place, any device for the purpose of observing, photographing, recording, amplifying or broadcasting, or in any way transmitting images or sounds in such place; or

(c) Outside a private place, any device for the purpose of hearing, recording, amplifying, broadcasting, or in any way transmitting images or sounds originating in such place which would not ordinarily be audible or comprehensible outside such place.

II. As used in this section, “private place” means a place where one may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance including public restrooms, locker rooms, or any place where a person’s private body parts including genitalia, buttocks, or female breasts may be exposed.

212:2 Breach of Peace; Violation of Privacy. Amend RSA 644:9, III to read as follows:

III. A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if that person knowingly disseminates or causes the dissemination of any photograph or video recording of himself or herself engaging in sexual activity with another person without the express consent of the other person or persons who appear in the photograph or videotape. In this paragraph, “disseminate” and “sexual activity” shall have the same meaning as in RSA 649-A:2.

IV. [This paragraph] Paragraphs I and II shall not be construed to impair or limit any otherwise lawful activities of law enforcement personnel, [or] nor are paragraphs I and II intended to limit employees of governmental agencies or other entities, public or private, who, in the course and scope of their employment and supported by articulable suspicion, attempt to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of a person during an investigation, surveillance, or monitoring of conduct to obtain evidence of suspected illegal activity, the suspected violation of any administrative rule or regulation, a suspected fraudulent insurance claim, or any other suspected fraudulent conduct or activity involving a violation of law, or pattern of business practices adversely affecting the public health or safety.

212:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

(Approved: June 11, 2004)

(Effective Date: June 11, 2004)