By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — Anyone who commits capital murder or rapes a child under 13 years old could be sentenced to life in prison at hard labor under a bill the House passed Wednesday as it began cleaning up the left over bills from the 2025 session.

Senate Bill 15 would require a two-thirds vote of a jury to sentence a person to hard labor and supporters said it should apply to those who commit the most egregious crimes.

Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, the Chair of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said the child victims of rape and their parents will remember the crimes for their lifetimes, while the person convicted of the crime will go to prison, get a degree, work out at the gym and forget about it.

If they have to do hard labor every day they are in prison, they will remember the crime they committed, he said.

“This is intended to punish people that do the most evil crimes I can think of,” Roy said.

But Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright, D-Nashua, said the bill would impact public safety, raise constitutional concerns and has significant consequences for the state.

Requiring hard labor of those convicted of those crimes must remain behind prison walls, but the bill would allow them into the communities to perform hard labor and are likely to be placed in labor camps.

“That ought to give us pause,” she said. “This is not tough on crime, this is risky. It puts the public in harm’s way … if something goes wrong.”

It will cost the state money to institute and will create labor camps like those in North Korea, China and Russia which raises constitutional concerns, she said.

And Harriott-Gathright said isolation as punishment is a recipe for court suits.

“Hard labor may feel satisfying to some,” she said, “but it does not make our communities safer.”

The bill defines hard labor as “the mandatory performance of physically intensive manual labor tasks assigned by the commissioner of corrections, designed to serve as punishment, deterrence, and, where appropriate, rehabilitation for offenders sentenced under RSA 651:2, II-i. Such labor shall include, but not be limited to, activities such as agricultural fieldwork, construction or infrastructure maintenance,
sanitation and waste management, manufacturing or assembly work requiring significant physical exertion, or other comparable tasks that demand prolonged physical effort under supervised conditions. No hard labor assignment shall pose an unreasonable risk of serious injury or be conducted without regard to the offender’s health and safety.”

The bill passed on a 179-159 vote and now goes back to the Senate for action.

Guns 

The House passed House Bill 609 that would clarify that the legislature is the only body with authority over the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, taxation, and other matters for firearms, stun guns, Tasers, pepper spray devices, knives and other self-defense tools.

The advocates said the bill would prevent unelected bureaucrats from deciding that guns should not be allowed in their building or selectmen banning guns from an event on town property.

“Can we carry firearms in this room? Yes,” said Roy. “Are we better than (anyone else)? No.”

He said the bill does not change banning weapons in court facilities, but local officials and state agency bureaucrats should not be able to deny people their constitutional right to carry a weapon.

But Rep David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, said the bill does nothing to improve public safety but does strip the last vestiges of empowerment from local communities.

He noted they are all concerned about the potential for political violence and the bill would just open the door to more mayhem and violence.

He questioned how the bill would impact the Thunder Over Pease which prohibits weapons beyond the entry points which attracts thousands of people to the former Air Force Base for the air show.

The bill passed on a 193-151 vote and goes to the Senate for action.

Glucose Monitoring

House Bill 648 would require insurance companies to pay for continuous glucose monitoring, which has recently been recommended by the American Diabetes Association for use for diabetics who do not use insulin. It currently is covered by those who do use insulin.

Supporters of the bill said it is proactive and helps diabetics to prevent damage to their brains, hearts, kidneys and other organs.

They said it improves the daily functioning and health of diabetics.

But opponents cautioned adding another mandate for insurance companies would increase insurance premiums when they are already increasing, particularly in a small market like New Hampshire.

The House sent the bill to interim study on a 309-37 vote. Interim study in the second year of a legislative term is a polite death because the next legislature does not have to take up the bill.

Custody Crimes

House Bill 194 raised the penalties for interfering with custody for such things as being late to return a child to his or her home.

Opponents of the bill said the legislature should stop criminalizing everything, giving people criminal records for minor offenses.

But supporters said those who are chronically late returning children need an incentive to make changes. 

Repeated violations could result in a class b felony under the bill.

The bill passed on a194-152 vote and goes to the Senate.

Legal Pot

The House yet again passed a bill to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in House Bill 186 on a 208-135 vote.

The bill will go to the House Finance Committee for Review before final passage.

The House has repeatedly approved bills legalizing cannabis use only to have the Senate kill them, including last session.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.