New Hampshire Laws Going into Effect in 2016
I looked through all of the laws that will be enforced in 2016 and found some interesting ones that you should know about.
The New Year celebrations will kick off another year in New Hampshire and another set of laws to be followed.
Out of the 905 bills proposed in the State of New Hampshire in 2015, only 267 were passed into law. You can read the full list here.
Most citizens will not notice most of these changes in their daily lives, but a few of the new laws going into effect are pretty interesting. The new laws involve everything from vehicular assault to lobster tails.
Here are some of the laws that will be enforced beginning January 1, 2016. Click on the title to see the full version:
A change to a current law allows the processing of uncooked shell-on lobster tails for sale in New Hampshire. The state has tight rules on the sale of lobsters, but the changes will allow for uncooked shell-on lobster tails processed onshore in an approved New Hampshire facility or a similar facility outside of New Hampshire. The legal measurements for lobsters sold in the state will not apply to uncooked shell-on lobster tails processed outside of New Hampshire and offered for sale in this state.
This bill increases the criminal penalty for fornicating, exposing one’s genitals, or performing any other act of gross lewdness knowing that a child less than 16 years of age is present. Anyone who commits these acts is guilty of a Class B felony.
A bill approved in 2015 will shift the burden of proof to the defendant for vehicular assault cases and remove the evidence-weighing function of the jury regarding an element of the crime. The bill also adds a more specific requirement of culpability for the operation of a vehicle or vessel.
Anyone convicted of sexual assault while hunting, trapping, or fishing can now have their fish & game licenses revoked. The period of revocation or suspension for any felony conviction is 10 years to life, 5 years to life for a misdemeanor conviction and 10 years to life for any second or subsequent misdemeanor conviction.
Included with these changes is the fact that the department's executive director can now establish fees that are different than the ones currently charged for licenses. The full list of changes can be found within the new law.
The department of safety requested changes to fines for certain motor vehicle offenses. For example, the fines for failing to yield right-of-way to any authorized vehicle that has their lights displayed are increased from $100 to $150 for the first offense, and from $200 to $250 plus penalties for subsequent offenses in the next year. Fines for speeds above the 70 mph limit have been added with the highest being $400 for driving 21+ miles over that limit.
This change requested by the fish & game department cracks down on drone use in a law related to harassment of those hunting, fishing, or trapping. harassment of persons hunting, fishing, or trapping. No person shall use a drone or UAV with the intent to conduct video surveillance of private citizens who are lawfully hunting, fishing, or trapping without obtaining the written consent of the persons being surveilled prior to conducting the surveillance.
Restrictions on boating in certain bodies of water do not apply to state employees when there is an emergency or other emergency situation. This change extends the same exception to municipal employees engaged in emergency rescue operations.
This new law clears liabilities for owners of land used for outdoor recreational activities. Each person who participates in outdoor recreational activities accepts the inherent risks, dangers, or hazards. This includes, but is not limited to, variations in terrain, trails, paths, or roads, surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions, bare spots, rocks, trees, stumps, and other forms of forest growth or debris, structures on the land, equipment not in use, pole lines, fences, and collisions with other objects or persons.
(I am not a politician or lawyer, so if I got any of these details wrong please email me at rob.michaelson@townsquaremedia.com so I can fix any errors.)
More From 94.9 WHOM
