SB 252-FN, as amended by the House, proposes significant changes to the bail and recognizance procedures in New Hampshire. The bill mandates that cash bail can only be set at an amount the defendant can afford, and it requires that individuals charged with certain serious offenses, such as homicide, assault, sexual assault, or violating protective orders, be detained without bail pending arraignment before a court, rather than before a bail commissioner. Additionally, the bill introduces the use of electronic monitoring for defendants released on bail, with the chief justice of the superior court and the administrative judge of the circuit court responsible for overseeing the program. The bill appropriates $750,000 to the Department of Safety and $986,000 to the Judicial Branch for the implementation of the electronic monitoring system and the sharing of bail condition status with law enforcement. The effective dates for the various sections of the act are January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2024, and the fiscal note indicates that the bill does not provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures and does not authorize new positions for implementation.

The bill's impact on state, county, and local resources is indeterminate, with the Department of Safety anticipating significant additional costs for housing defendants pending arraignment. The Judicial Branch notes that it does not currently administer electronic monitoring and cannot project the costs for contracting these services or for additional staff, estimating that hiring magistrates alone would exceed $2 million per year. The New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) explains that the bill would eliminate the use of bail commissioners for certain crimes and set a timeline for when a court must hold a bail hearing, potentially increasing costs for police departments in transporting arrestees to county facilities. The New Hampshire Association of Counties indicates that costs to correctional facilities are indeterminable and may include increased salaries and technology costs for hearings outside the current schedule with the expanded magistrate program. The bill does not establish or fund magistrate positions within the Judicial Branch.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 597:2
As Amended by the House: 597:2