Text of NH SB 315 (2024)

SB 315-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED 2024 SESSION 24-2927 10/05 SENATE BILL 315-FN-LOCAL AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Simpson, Rock. 33; Rep. Harriott-Gathright, Hills. 10 COMMITTEE: Judiciary ----------------------------------------------------------------- ANALYSIS This bill requires a law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire to collect and report information concerning bias crimes as prescribed by the division of state police. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type. 24-2927 10/05 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened: 1 New Paragraph; State Police; Crime Reporting System; Bias Crimes. Amend RSA 106-B:14-c by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph: III.(a) A law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire shall separately collect information concerning bias crimes in the manner and form prescribed by the division of state police. (b) At least 2 times each year, a law enforcement agency shall submit information collected on bias crimes to the department of safety, division of state police. Information submitted and reports issued under this paragraph shall be in conformity with guidelines described in paragraph I, and shall: (1) Be separated in reports on the basis of whether it is an alleged crime, a charged crime, or a crime for which a conviction has been obtained; and (2) Be divided in reports on the basis of whether, in the opinion of the reporting individual and the data collectors, bias was the primary motivation for the crime or only incidental to the crime. (c) A report under this paragraph submitted to the persons and agencies described in paragraph I may not contain the name of a person who: (1) Committed or allegedly committed a bias crime; or (2) Was the victim or the alleged victim of a bias crime. (d) Information collected, submitted, and reported under this paragraph must be consistent with guidelines established for the acquisition, preservation, and exchange of identification records and information by the Attorney General of the United States or the Federal Bureau of Investigation under 28 U.S.C. 534 and the Hate Crime Statistics Act, as amended (28 U.S.C. 534 note). 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage. LBA 24-2927 12/5/23 SB 315-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE AS INTRODUCED AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. FISCAL IMPACT: Due to time constraints, the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to provide a fiscal note for this bill, as introduced, at this time. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the Senate Clerk's Office. AGENCIES CONTACTED: Department of Safety, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association

SB 315-FN-LOCAL - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES 03/21/2024 0990s 2024 SESSION 24-2927 10/05 SENATE BILL 315-FN-LOCAL AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Simpson, Rock. 33; Rep. Harriott-Gathright, Hills. 10 COMMITTEE: Judiciary ----------------------------------------------------------------- AMENDED ANALYSIS This bill requires a law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire to report information concerning hate crimes to the department of safety, and requires the department of safety to publish the statistical information on its website. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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. 03/21/2024 0990s 24-2927 10/05 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened: 1 New Paragraph; State Police; Crime Reporting System; Bias Crimes. Amend RSA 106-B:14-c by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph: I-a. Law enforcement agencies operating within New Hampshire shall submit crime reports related to hate crimes to the department of safety, division of state police, no fewer than every 6 months. The report shall be a compilation of the number of offenses and arrests on hate crimes occurring within their own jurisdictions, submitted in the manner and in the form specified by the department of safety, division of state police. The department of safety shall make available on its website statistical reports concerning hate crimes, containing the number and nature of criminal offenses, arrests, and clearances, and any other data determined to be appropriate relating to the method, frequency, cause, and prevention of crime. The department of safety shall update the statistical data on its website no fewer than every 45 days. For purposes of this paragraph, "hate crime" includes any offense where the officer develops reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime was motivated in any part by hate or bias toward race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, disability, or any other protected characteristics identified in either RSA 354-B:1 or RSA 651:6, I(f). 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage. LBA 24-2927 Revised 12/18/23 SB 315-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE AS INTRODUCED AN ACT relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes. FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 Revenue Fund(s) None Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Funding Source(s) General Fund Appropriations $0 $0 $0 $0 Funding Source(s) None • Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] See Below • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] N/A Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease) FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 County Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 County Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Local Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 Local Expenditures $0 Indeterminable METHODOLOGY: This bill, assumed effective in FY 2025, requires a law enforcement agency operating within the State to collect and report information concerning the bias crimes as prescribed by the Division of State Police (NHSP). Currently, NHSP only captures whether an incident simply has bias motivation. The Department of Safety states this bill requires more information and will require additional data fields to track, aggregate and report through the lifecycle of a case rather than just the onset of the case, which will involve additional staff time. The Department states this bill will require software programming changes to its state records management system and will also change its contracted state repository, which submits these types of statistics to the FBI. The Department has not provided a cost estimate (or range of potential cost) attributable to this bill. It is possible this bill may result in additional costs to county and local law enforcement agencies to comply, however, those costs are indeterminable and would vary from agency to agency. AGENCIES CONTACTED: Department of Safety, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association