Bill Text: NH HB1176 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishing a committee to study the attorney general's authority over certain municipal and county employees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-06-16 - Introduced 06/16/2020, and Laid on Table, Motion Adopted, Voice Vote; 06/16/2020; Senate Journal 8 [HB1176 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2020-HB1176-Introduced.html
HB 1176 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2234
05/06
HOUSE BILL 1176
SPONSORS: Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 6; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Berch, Ches. 1; Rep. Keans, Straf. 23; Rep. Grote, Rock. 24; Rep. Eaton, Ches. 3; Rep. Leishman, Hills. 24; Rep. Heath, Hills. 14; Rep. Huot, Belk. 3; Rep. Porter, Hills. 1
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a committee to study the attorney general's authority over certain municipal and county employees.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2234
05/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the attorney general's authority over certain municipal and county employees.
2 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
3 Duties. The committee shall study the attorney general's authority over certain municipal and county employees. The study shall include:
I. The nature and limits, if any, of the attorney general's statutory authority over a democratically elected county attorney.
II. The nature and limits, if any, of the attorney general's statutory authority over a regional, city-employed prosecutor.
III. The statutory or other formal standards in place for the attorney general to assume the authority of a sitting, democratically elected county attorney through a consensual or non-consensual process.
IV. The role, if any, of the attorney general's office when a county attorney's office becomes vacant.
V. The power of the attorney general's office to suspend a democratically elected county attorney and the statutory standards, if any, for such action.
VI. The statutory or other process in place for a new election when a county attorney's authority is assumed by the attorney general or when a county attorney is suspended.
VII. Any other issues that relate to the respective and/or overlapping roles of the attorney general's office, a county attorney, and the electorate in the criminal justice system.
4 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Three members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
5 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2020.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
