Bill Text: NH HB630 | 2019 | Regular Session | Enrolled

New Hampshire House Bill 630 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Increasing certain fines for OHRV and snowmobile operation violations.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-03 - Signed by Governor Sununu 07/01/2019; Chapter 153; Eff: 07/01/2019 [HB630 Detail]

Download: New_Hampshire-2019-HB630-Enrolled.html

HB 630-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES

28Feb2019... 0458h

2019 SESSION

19-0721

04/08

HOUSE BILL 630-FN

AN ACT increasing certain fines for OHRV and snowmobile operation violations.

SPONSORS: Rep. Moynihan, Coos 2; Rep. L'Heureux, Hills. 21

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill increases fines for certain OHRV and snowmobile violations and, in cases where an OHRV or snowmobile complaint is prosecuted by the county sheriff, requires the fine or forfeiture to be remitted to the county sheriff.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

28Feb2019... 0458h 19-0721

04/08

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen

AN ACT increasing certain fines for OHRV and snowmobile operation violations.

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

1 Uniform Fine Schedule Changes; Certain Fish and Game Violations. Pursuant to RSA 502-A:19-b, V, the portion of the title XVIII uniform fine schedule for OHRV and snowmobile offenses set forth in this section shall be as follows:

OHRV VIOLATIONS

1. RSA 215-A:6, III, unreasonable speed:

1-24 mph over prima facie speed limit $124

25 mph or more over prima facie speed limit $248

2. RSA 215-A:14, I(e), required equipment mufflers and exhaust system $248

3. RSA 215-A:21, II, operation of unregistered OHRV $248

4. RSA 215-A:29, XI, operating OHRV on another's property without permission $248

SNOWMOBILE VIOLATIONS

5. RSA 215-C:8, III, unreasonable speed:

1-24 mph over proma facie speed limit $124

25 mph or more over prima facie speed limit $248

6. RSA 215-C:28, sound levels/exhaust $248

7. RSA 215-C:30, I, required equipment (modified exhaust) $248

8. RSA 215-C:36, II, operation of unregistered snowmobile $248

9. RSA 215-C:49, XIII, operating snowmobile on another's property without permission $248

2 New Paragraph; OHRV Fines. Amend RSA 215-A:18 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

IV. The court or justice of any court in which a complaint is prosecuted for a violation of this chapter, or any rule adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A under the authority of this chapter, brought by a sheriff, shall, within 30 days after any fine or forfeiture is paid, remit the amount of the fine or forfeiture to the county in whose service the sheriff was acting; provided, however that, from each fine collected by a district court, there shall be deducted $10 and 20 percent of that part of the fine which exceeds $10.

3 New Paragraph; Snowmobile Fines. Amend RSA 215-C:33 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.

LBAO

19-0721

Revised 3/28/19

Amended 3/15/19

HB 630-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2019-0458h)

AN ACT increasing certain fines for OHRV and snowmobile operation violations.

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


	Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE:	FY 2020	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023
Appropriation	$0	$0	$0	$0
Revenue	Potential Increase of $112,436	Potential Increase of $112,436	Potential Increase of $112,436	Potential Increase of $112,436
Expenditures	$0	$0	$0	$0
Funding Source:	[ ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Multiple (See Methodology)

COUNTY:
Revenue	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase
Expenditures	$0	$0	$0	$0

LOCAL:
Revenue	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase
Expenditures	$0	$0	$0	$0

METHODOLOGY:

This bill increase fines for certain off-highway recreational vehicle (OHRV) and snowmobile violations. Using the average violations in calendar years 2017-2018 prosecuted by the Fish and Game Department, the estimated increase in revenue to the Fish and Game Fund is $90,674 for FY 2020 and each year thereafter. The estimated net fine increase by violation type is as follows:

Offense	Average # of Cases	Current Revenue	New Fine Revenue	Net Increase in Revenue
OHRV Violations
RSA 215-A:6, III (1-24 mph over speed limit)	45*	$70 Fine X 45 = $3,150	$124 Fine X 45 = $5,580	$2,430
RSA 215-A:14	11	$70 Fine X 11 = $770	$248 Fine X 11 = $2,728	$1,958
RSA 215-A:21	123	$120 Fine X 123 = $14,760	$248 Fine X 123 = $30,504	$15,744
RSA 215-A:29	144	$70 Fine X 144 = $10,080	$248 Fine X 144 = $35,712	$25,632
Snowmobile Violations
RSA 215-C:8 (1-24 mph over speed limit)	175*	$70 Fine X 175 = $12,250	$124 Fine X 175 = $21,700	$9,450
RSA 215-C:28 RSA 215-C:30**	163	$120 Fine X 163 = $19,560	$248 Fine X 163 = $40,424	$20,864
RSA 215-C:36	89	$120 Fine X 89 = $10,680	$248 Fine X 89 = $22,072	$11,392
RSA 215-C:49	18	$70 Fine X 18 = $1,260	$248 Fine X 18 = $4,464	$3,204
Total Increase in Fines				$90,674
Assumes all cases of speeding are between 1 mph to 24 mph over the speed limit, since the Department does not have data to track violations by speed. *The Fish and Game Department combined these exhaust related offenses.

In addition to the increased revenue to the Fish and Game Fund, a penalty assessment of 24% would be imposed on those violators which would produce an estimated additional $21,762 to the following funds: $14,515 to the general fund, $3,627 to the victims’ assistance fund, and $3,627 to the judicial branch information technology fund.

Based on the average number of cases reported by the Fish and Game Department, State revenue would increase by at least $112,436 in FY 2020 and each year thereafter. However, not all prosecutions of OHRV and Snowmobile violations are initiated by the Fish and Game Department. In fact, any law enforcement agency can prosecute these types of violations. Under current law, for violations brought by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources or a local law enforcement agency, the fine revenue is remitted to the prosecuting agency. If the fine was collected by a municipal or district court, then $10 of the fine and 20 percent of the amount that exceeds $10 is deducted from the total amount remitted to the prosecuting agency. This bill as amended expands this provision to county sheriffs.

Due to some limitations in the data collection system of Snowmobile and OHRV fines within the Judicial Branch, the revenue impact to all law enforcement agencies, in addition to the Fish and Game Department, cannot be determined. However, the Judicial Branch provided data on relevant or similar offenses and the prosecuting law enforcement agency. For the types of fines being increased in this bill, the Fish and Game Department prosecutes the most cases with County law enforcement agencies prosecuting the second amount of cases.

Fiscal Year	Law Enforcement Agency	Snowmobile Offenses	OHRV Offenses	Total Offenses	Percent of Total Offenses
FY 2017	County	107	2	109	10.1%
	Natural And Cultural Resources	53	8	61	5.7%
	Fish and Game	395	444	839	77.8%
	State Police	2	2	4	0.4%
	Municipal	53	5	58	5.4%
	Unknown*	4	4	8	0.7%
Total		614	465	1,079
FY 2018	County	165	3	168	18.5%
	Natural And Cultural Resources	50	0	50	5.5%
	Fish and Game	278	308	586	64.7%
	State Police	3	0	3	0.3%
	Municipal	75	15	90	9.9%
	Unknown*	4	5	9	0.3%
Total		575	331	906

Note: The dataset provided by the Judicial Branch included all of the violations where the fine is being increased in this bill. However, data provided for violations under RSA 215-A:21, RSA 215-A:29, and RSA 215-C:30 may include additional offenses not being amended by this bill.

*Some fields in the Judicial Branch dataset did not record an arresting agency.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Fish And Game Department and Judicial Branch