By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Proceeds from the anticipated sale of the Sununu Youth Services Center property in Manchester won’t go to the YDC Settlement Fund to compensate victims after the House voted Thursday to back a Senate bill putting the cash into the state’s General Fund.
Rep. Brian Seaworth, R-Pembroke, called SB 481 a housekeeping measure to clean up confusion about the sales proceeds. The state, which is building a new facility to house children in state custody, is expecting as much as $75 million from the sale of the Manchester center.
“[The bill] does not create new revenue or direct new spending,” Seaworth said.
Last year’s budget confusingly put the proceeds from the sale in both the General Fund and the YDC Settlement Fund. Seaworth said the bill parked the money in the General Fund and gives lawmakers flexibility to deal with the sale, which has yet to happen. There’s no timeline for the sale, which could take years to close.
But Rep. David Preece, D-Manchester, said the money should go to the victims, and the proceeds will evaporate in the General Fund.
“This is not about accounting, this is about accountability,” Preece said.
It passed with amendment on a vote of 186-157. Because there was an amendment, the bill will have to go back to the Senate.
As of the end of March, more than 2,200 people who say they were abused as children in state custody have filed claims with the YDC Settlement Fund. The abuse, which victims say was covered up by staff, their supervisors, and higher ups, ranged from rapes, to physical assaults, to torturous solitary confinement.
Since the legislature created the Fund in 2023, 425 of those claims have been settled with the state paying out close to $240 million, leaving 1,600 claims still pending. At that rate, there’s potential for at least another billion dollars in settlements. The state is not covered by insurance for the abuse, and all settlements or damage awards will be shouldered by taxpayers.
Seaworth said the state has already had to cancel contracts and juggle money in other areas of the budget in order to pay for some of the settlement claims. Putting the property sale proceeds back into the General Fund, whenever the sale happens, will allow those deficits to be covered if still necessary or put the money into the Settlement Fund.
“It makes sense to keep the future decisions open,” Seaworth said.
The Settlement Fund was created as a way to give survivors a measure of closure and justice, while hopefully saving money for the taxpayers. The only YDC civil lawsuit to yet go to trial ended in a $38 million jury award for survivor David Meehan.
New Hampshire under Gov. Kelly Ayotte has been working to minimize paying the survivors. Last year she backed a last minute change to the law that gives Attorney General John Formella veto authority over settlement claim decisions. At the same time, Formella’s office is fighting against paying Meehan the $38 million awarded by the jury. The state claims it is only obligated to pay Meehan $475,000 under New Hampshire’s state liability cap.