HB 138-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2021 SESSION

21-0183

04/06

HOUSE BILL 138-FN

AN ACT allowing prisoners serving life sentences to be eligible for parole after 25 years.

SPONSORS: Rep. Abramson, Rock. 37; Rep. Conley, Straf. 13

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

-----------------------------------------------------------------

ANALYSIS

This bill requires parole review of certain offenders sentenced to life without parole.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

21-0183

04/06

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One

AN ACT allowing prisoners serving life sentences to be eligible for parole after 25 years.

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

1  New Paragraph; Parole of Prisoners; Terms of Release.  Amend RSA 651-A:6 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V.(a)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a prisoner serving a sentence of life imprisonment, with or without the possibility for parole, shall be eligible for parole review after serving a term of 18 years for a conviction for second degree murder under RSA 630:1-b, and after serving a term of 25 years for a conviction for any other offense for which the prisoner was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility for parole.

(b)  This paragraph shall not apply to:

(1)  A prisoner convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death before the effective date of this paragraph; or

(2)  A prisoner who is convicted of murder while serving a sentence in a correctional facility.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBA

21-0183

11/24/20

HB 138-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT allowing prisoners serving life sentences to be eligible for parole after 25 years.

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires parole review of certain offenders sentenced to life without parole.  The Department of Corrections indicates there are currently 114 individuals that would be eligible for parole before their minimum sentence and 75 individuals that would become eligible for parole review that are serving sentences of life without parole.  The Department cannot predict the number of people that would or would not be released on parole under this bill.  The Department states the fiscal impact is indeterminable, but expects the impact would either be no change or a decrease in expenditures.

It is assumed any fiscal impact of this bill will  not occur until FY 2022.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Corrections