BillCam

SB 605-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2020 SESSION

20-2746

04/03

SENATE BILL 605-FN

AN ACT relative to violations of privacy involving an unmanned aerial vehicle.

SPONSORS: Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Rep. Steven Smith, Sull. 11; Rep. Erf, Hills. 2

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

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ANALYSIS

This bill includes unmanned aerial vehicle or "drone" in the meaning of "device" and restricts where a drone may fly outside of a private place.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2746

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

AN ACT relative to violations of privacy involving an unmanned aerial vehicle.

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

1 Violation of Privacy; Use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Amend RSA 644:9, I(c) to read as follows:

(c) Outside a private place, any device for the purpose of hearing, recording, amplifying, broadcasting, observing, or in any way transmitting images, location, movement, or sounds originating in such place which would not ordinarily be audible, visible, or comprehensible outside such place; or

(d) Outside a private place, an unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, flying at an altitude less than 400 feet above a private place or its curtilage at any time without the written permission of the resident or owner of the private place.

2 Violation of Privacy; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Added. Amend RSA 644:9, II to read as follows:

II. As used in this section[,]:

(a) "Private place" means a place where one may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance including public restrooms, locker rooms, the interior of one's dwelling place, or any place where a person's private body parts including genitalia, buttocks, or female breasts may be exposed.

(b) "Device" shall include an unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone.

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

LBAO

20-2746

11/12/19

SB 605-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to violations of privacy involving an unmanned aerial vehicle.

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

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

Appropriation

Revenue

Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other

COUNTY:

Revenue

Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

METHODOLOGY:

This bill contains a penalty 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.

Judicial Branch

FY 2021

FY 2022

Class A Misdemeanor

$77

$79

Appeals

Varies

It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types.

Judicial Council

Public Defender Program

Has contract with State to provide services.

Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor

$300/Case

Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor

$60/Hour up to $1,400

It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).

Department of Corrections

FY 2019 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$44,400

FY 2019 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$5,071

FY 2019 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$576

NH Association of Counties

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $120

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

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