SB 128-FN-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
8May2013… 1377h
2013 SESSION
05/01
SENATE BILL 128-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to fees for vital records.
SPONSORS: Sen. Boutin, Dist 16; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Kelly, Dist 10; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Stiles, Dist 24; Rep. Shaw, Hills 16; Rep. Infantine, Hills 13; Rep. D. Sullivan, Hills 42; Rep. Ramsey, Hills 8
This bill increases the portion of vital record fees retained by the town clerk and removes the requirement that a portion of the fees be deposited in the general fund.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
8May2013… 1377h
13-0783
05/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT relative to fees for vital records.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Fees for Copies, Verifications, and Amendments to Vital Records. Amend RSA 5-C:10 II to read as follows:
II. The town clerk shall forward $8 of each search fee collected by the clerk under this section to the department of state for deposit in the vital records improvement fund established under RSA 5-C:15[, and $3 to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund,] and shall retain the remaining [$4] $7 as the clerk’s fee for issuing such a copy. For subsequent copies issued at the same time, the town clerk shall forward $5 of the fee collected for each subsequent copy under this section to the department for deposit in the vital records improvement fund established under RSA 5-C:15 [and $2 to the state treasurer for deposit in the general fund,] and shall retain the remaining [$3] $5 as the clerk’s fee for issuing such a copy. The town clerk shall retain the $25 fee for a delayed birth certificate as the clerk’s fee for examining documents and issuing the delayed birth certificate. Fees collected by the registrar shall be forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit into the vital records improvement fund established under RSA 5-C:15.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
LBAO
13-0783
01/09/13
SB 128-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to fees for vital records.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Secretary of State and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill, as introduced, will decrease state general fund revenue, and increase local revenue by $309,000 in FY 2014 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no impact on state, county, and local expenditures, or county revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Secretary of State and the New Hampshire Municipal Association both indicate this bill would reduce vital records fees designated for the state general fund by allowing cities and towns to keep more of the total fee as clerk’s fees. The Secretary of State reports there were approximately 65,000 vital records searches and approximately 57,000 subsequent copies during FY 2011 and assumes the numbers will not vary significantly year to year.
The difference in the amount retained by the city or town clerks, rather than being paid into the state general fund, is $3 per record search resulting in a $195,000 decrease in revenue to the state general fund (65,000 x $3 = $195,000) and a $195,000 increase in local revenue. This bill also would allow city and town clerks to retain $5 for subsequent copies, rather than $3 under current law resulting in a difference of $114,000 (57,000 x $2). In total, state general fund revenue will decrease by $309,000 ($195,000 + $114,000) and local revenue will increase by a like amount.