HB 799-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
08/03
HOUSE BILL 799-FN
AN ACT establishing a criminal usury rate for interest rates.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kaelin, Hills 4; Rep. C. Chase, Hills 2; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6
This bill establishes a criminal usury rate for interest rates.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0388
08/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT establishing a criminal usury rate for interest rates.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Usury Prohibited. Amend RSA 336 by inserting after section 2 the following new section:
336:3 Usury Prohibited.
I. No person shall commit usury by, as guarantor or otherwise, directly or indirectly, loaning money to any person and, directly or indirectly, charging, demanding, accepting or making any agreement to receive therefor interest at a rate greater than 36 percent per year.
II. Any person who knowingly violates paragraph I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person and guilty of a felony if any other person.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0388
Revised 03/02/07
HB 799 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing a criminal usury rate for interest rates.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Justice, Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and Association of Counties state that this bill may increase state general fund and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Justice states this bill establishes a maximum usury rate of 36% per year. Violation of this act is a misdemeanor if a natural person and a felony if any other person. It is estimated that the bill will result in increased complaints to the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, but such complaints could be absorbed by existing staff. Misdemeanor offenses are typically prosecuted by local prosecutors and county attorneys. However, all criminal appeals to the state Supreme Court, even those initially handled at the local and county level, are handled by the Department. It is not possible to estimate how many cases will result from this bill and of those how many will result in appeals to the Supreme Court, therefore the fiscal impact on expenditures cannot be determined.
The Judicial Branch states this bill establishes unspecified misdemeanor and felony level offenses. The Branch calculates the judicial and clerical cost of a class A misdemeanor at $50 per charge, and a class B misdemeanor at $37 per charge using current salary levels. The cost of an average felony case is $297 per charge. There is also the potential for appeals, resulting in additional costs. The Branch is unable to predict the number of prosecutions that will be brought pursuant to the proposed statute.
The Judicial Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill, for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will in the first instance be handled by the public defender or a contract attorney on a fixed fee basis of $250 per misdemeanor charged. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $1,000 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. Any case where a defendant has been found guilty may also result in appeals to the Supreme Court which would have a cost implication for Indigent Defense expenditures made by the State. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases that may result from the passage of this bill, and is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Association of Counties states to the extent individuals are prosecuted, the county may incur the cost of pre-trial detainment at the county department of corrections, as well as the cost of sentenced inmates under the new law. The average annual cost for counties to incarcerate inmates is $22,889. The Association states the total exposure to the counties would be dependent on the number of individuals convicted and sentenced under the new law, which cannot be determined at this time.