Bill Text: NH HB611 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Abolishing recoupment procedures regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-29 - Public Hearing: 02/19/2025 03:15 pm Legislative Office Building 206-208 [HB611 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2025-HB611-Introduced.html
HB 611-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0364
09/11
HOUSE BILL 611-FN
AN ACT abolishing recoupment procedures regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
SPONSORS: Rep. Scherr, Rock. 26; Rep. Roy, Rock. 31; Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 10; Rep. Turer, Rock. 6; Rep. Berch, Ches. 6; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill abolishes the repayment requirement and recoupment procedures for indigent criminal defendants who are appointed counsel.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0364
09/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT abolishing recoupment procedures regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Adequate Representation for Indigent Defendants in Criminal Cases; Determination of Financial Ability. Amend RSA 604-A:2-c to read as follows:
604-A:2-c Determination of Financial Ability. The determination of a defendant's financial ability to obtain counsel shall be made by comparing the defendant's assets and incomes with the minimum cost of obtaining qualified private counsel. The defendant's assets shall include all real and personal property owned in any manner by the defendant, excluding only those assets which are exempt from attachment and execution under RSA 511:2. The defendant's income shall include all income, whether earned or not, from any source, unless exempt from attachment under any state or federal law, and shall be reduced only by the amount of expenses which are reasonably necessary for the maintenance of the defendant and his dependents. In determining a defendant's financial ability to obtain counsel, the rules adopted by the commissioner under RSA 604-A:10, IV, shall contain a method for considering the defendant's ability to borrow some or all of the necessary funds. [The rules shall also consider the possibility of the defendant paying his counsel fees in periodic installments.]
2 Adequate Representation for Indigent Defendants in Criminal Cases; Appointment of Counsel for Nonpayment or Nonperformance; Cross-Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 604-A:2-f, IV to read as follows:
IV. When the court appoints counsel to represent a defendant in a proceeding under this section, the court shall grant the defendant relief from the obligation to repay the state for appointed counsel fees [under RSA 604-A:9, I(b),] if the court determines that the defendant is financially unable to repay.
3 Adequate Representation for Indigent Defendants in Criminal Cases; Commissioner of Administrative Services. Amend RSA 604-A:10, IV to read as follows:
IV. The commissioner of administrative services shall, with the approval of the attorney general, adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, governing determinations of eligibility for payment of indigent defense expenditures[, determinations of repayment schedules, financial and credit investigations,] and any other matters the commissioner deems necessary or advisable for the performance of duties under this chapter.
4 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 604-A:2-a, relative to additional inquiry regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
II. RSA 604-A:2-d, relative to partial liability regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
III. RSA 604-A:9, relative to repayment regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
25-0364
1/6/25
HB 611-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT abolishing recoupment procedures regarding appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
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| |||||
Estimated State Impact | ||||||
| FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | ||
Revenue | $0 | ($320,208) | ($320,208) | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | General Fund | |||||
Expenditures* | $0 | Maximum ($371,094) | Maximum ($383,554) | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund | |||||
Appropriations* | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill modifies the process for determining whether a criminal defendant qualifies for state-appointed counsel by adjusting the assessment of assets, income, and borrowing ability. It removes the requirement for courts to establish repayment schedules for indigent defense costs and eliminates provisions requiring defendants to repay the state for legal counsel fees if they cannot afford them. Additionally, the bill repeals the cost recovery functions of the Office of Cost Containment (OCC) under the Department of Administrative Services (DAS).
The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) states eliminating the cost recovery functions of the Office of Cost Containment (OCC) will result in the elimination of the OCC's operational budget. The OCC, which currently employs four staff members, is responsible for recouping legal defense costs from indigent defendants. With the repeal, the OCC’s role would no longer exist, and the agency’s funding requests of $371,094 for FY26 and $383,554 for FY27 would no longer be necessary. To the extent these eliminated positions have unused leave time the payout might reduce the savings in expenditures by an indeterminable amount.
Due to previous legislative changes, collections have already declined significantly, from $1.932 million in FY20 to $402,000 in FY24. Projections for FY25 estimate collections at approximately $320,208.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Administrative Services
