2001 SESSION

New Hampshire House Bill 437

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HB 437-FN - AS INTRODUCED
 HOUSE BILL 437-FN

AN ACT relative to certain changes to the child pornography statutes.

SPONSORS: Rep. Itse, Rock 11; Rep. Marshall Quandt, Rock 20; Rep. Matthew Quandt, Rock 20; Rep. Salts, Hills 41

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill provides that, except as otherwise provided by law, any person engaged in the sale, publication, or distribution of a visual representation of an unclothed child which exposes such child's genitals, shall be guilty of felony child pornography.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

AN ACT relative to certain changes to the child pornography statutes.

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

            1 New Subparagraph; Child Pornography; Offenses; Visual Representation of Unclothed Minor. Amend RSA 649-A:3, I by inserting after subparagraph (f) the following new subparagraph:

      (g) Sells, publishes, or otherwise distributes a visual representation of an unclothed child which exposes such child's genitals. Appropriate photographs or video recordings taken by a parent for the purpose of family posterity shall be exempt from this subparagraph.

             2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2002.

 

HB 437-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to certain changes in the child pornography statutes.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Council and the Department of Corrections have determined this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2002 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill relative to certain changes to the child pornography statutes will have no fiscal impact on the Judicial Branch.

The Judicial Council stated this bill adds a new section to the child pornography statute. 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 a 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.