SB 405-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

03/24/2022   1101s

2022 SESSION

22-3052

11/04

SENATE BILL 405-FN

AN ACT relative to fines and penalties for election law violations.

SPONSORS: Sen. Giuda, Dist 2; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Rep. J. MacDonald, Carr. 6; Rep. Lang, Belk. 4

COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs

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ANALYSIS

This bill modifies penalties for certain offenses related to elections.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03//2022   1101s 22-3052

11/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two

AN ACT relative to fines and penalties for election law violations.

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

1  New Section; Election Procedure; Prohibited Acts; Intimidation of Election Officers.  Amend RSA 659 by inserting after section 40-a the following new section:

659:40-b  Intimidation of Election Officers.  

I.  No person shall use or threaten force, violence, or any tactic of coercion or intimidation to knowingly discourage, interfere with, or compel any election officer, as defined in RSA 652:14, and other appointed individuals assisting at the polling place, such as ballot clerks and greeters, from engaging in or completing duties related to an election.

II.  Whoever violates the provisions of this section or who conspires to violate the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B felony.

2  New Subdivision; Penalties.  Amend RSA 659 by inserting after section 103 the following new subdivision:

Penalties

659:104  Penalties.

I.  Where no other penalty is provided, whoever violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.

II.  The attorney general shall notify persons subject to this section of the state's intention to seek a civil penalty, and of the ability to negotiate with and to settle with such suspected violators without court action, provided that any civil penalty paid as settlement shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the general fund.

3  Political Expenditures and Contributions; Penalties.  Amend RSA 664:21, V to read as follows:

V.(a)  Whoever violates any of the provisions of RSA 664:16-a [or the provisions of RSA 664:17 relative to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising on private property] shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.

(b)  Whoever violates, or orders, aids, or abets a violation of RSA 664:17, relative to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising on private property, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $250 for each piece of political advertising removed, defaced, or destroyed, up to a maximum of $2,000.

(c)  The court, upon petition of the attorney general, may levy upon any person who violates the provisions of RSA 664:16-a or [the provisions of] RSA 664:17 [relative to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising on private property a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per violation.  All penalties assessed under this paragraph shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the general fund] the civil penalties under subparagraphs (a) and (b).

[(c)] (d)  The attorney general shall [have authority to] notify suspected violators of RSA 664:16-a or [the provisions of] RSA 664:17 [relative to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising on private property] of the state's intention to seek a civil penalty, to negotiate, and to settle with such suspected violators without court action[, provided any civil penalty paid as settlement shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the general fund].

4  New Paragraphs; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Penalties.  Amend RSA 664:21 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraphs:

VIII.(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever violates, or orders, aids, or abets a violation of any provision of this section or RSA 664:14 shall be subject to a civil penalty of $250 for each piece of political advertising removed, up to a maximum of $2,000.

(b)  The attorney general shall notify suspected violators of this section of the state's intention to seek a civil penalty, to negotiate, and to settle with such suspected violators within the civil penalty limits established in this section without court action.

(c)  Whoever is subject to a civil penalty under this paragraph shall also be subject to the payment of restitution for damages.

IX.  Any individual, committee, or organization responsible for reporting under RSA 664:6, 664:6-a, and 664:7 that files a report with illegible material content shall receive a written warning for a first offense and shall be charged a civil penalty of $1,000 per offense for any subsequent offenses.

5  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.

LBA

22-3052

Amended 3/28/22

SB 405-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2022-1101s)

AN ACT relative to fines and penalties for election law violations.

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

METHODOLOGY:

This bill modifies penalties and fines for certain offenses related to elections.  This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.  However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

This bill contains penalties that will have an indeterminable impact on the Judicial Branch system.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.  In the past the Judicial Branch has used averaged caseload data based on time studies to estimate the fiscal impact of proposed legislation.  The per case data on costs for routine criminal cases currently available to the Judicial Branch are based on studies of judicial and clerical weighted caseload times for processing average routine criminal cases that are more than fifteen years old so the data does not have current validity.  A new case study is being conducted  and updated estimates will be available in the future.

The Department of Justice indicates this bill would increase the work of the Election Law Unit as there would be additional prosecutions for the actions of intimidation of election officials and destroying political signs.  There would also be additional actions taken against organizations and individuals who file illegible reports.  At this time, the Department cannot determine the fiscal impact as the number of additional prosecutions is not known.  The Department expects  the Election Law Unit could manage the number of prosecutions with its current attorneys.  The Department states there may be a need for additional investigative resources, however, this  potential impact not known at this time.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties