Committee Summary for Senate Judiciary (02/12/2026)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
SB510 0671s 00:07:19.280 - 12:06:05 PM	Executive Session	ensuring state-operated, publicly accessible spaces have designated smoking areas undetectable to visitors.	Murphy, Keith(R)[A]2025
SB464 00:10:34.160 - 12:09:20 PM	Executive Session	relative to civil rights enforcement.	Abbas, Daryl(R)[B-]2025
SB619 2024-0674s 00:45:31.760 - 12:44:17 PM	Public Hearing	establishing procedures for expedited court hearings and disposition of confiscated animals.	Abbas, Daryl(R)[B-]2025
SB558 01:18:39.440 - 1:17:25 PM	Public Hearing	relative to the appointment of the youth development center claims administrator.	Altschiller, Debra(D)[CT]2025
SB414 02:39:55.200 - 2:38:41 PM	Public Hearing	relative to enforcement of marital property settlements.	Altschiller, Debra(D)[CT]2025

SB510 0671s: Senator Tim Lang, District 2 Information Only00:07:19.280 - 12:06:05 PM; Senator Lang explains that SB 510 is a refiled bill from last term addressing due process in schools, which was interim studied but did not resolve issues with the university system and collective bargaining. He proposes amendment 0671s to convert the bill into a study commission involving senators, house members, university system, and community college system to develop workable legislation for next term.
SB464: Senator Daryl Abbas, District 22 (Pelham, Salem, Atkinson, Plaistow) Support00:10:34.160 - 12:09:20 PM; Senator Abbas introduces SB 464 as a minor clarification to the civil rights law to better align with its original intent. The bill adds language requiring that conduct be substantially motivated by hostility toward the victim's protected class (e.g., race, religion, sexual orientation) rather than just motivated by the protected class in general. He argues this prevents inadvertent violations, such as someone removing an offensive sign out of insult rather than hostility toward the poster's class, and reduces selective prosecution risks. He addresses concerns about vagueness by noting 'substantially' is used in other statutes and provides examples to illustrate the distinction. He emphasizes that the goal is to capture acts driven by prejudice against the victim, not incidental connections.
SB464: Steve Bosanowski, Congregational Church of Amherst Oppose00:22:35.919 - 12:21:21 PM; Steve Bosanowski, an active member of the Congregational Church of Amherst (affiliated with United Church of Christ), testifies against SB 464, arguing it weakens current protections under the Civil Rights Act. His church prides itself on being an open and affirming community welcoming all races, abilities, orientations, and identities, symbolized by a new sign with a rainbow field stating 'welcoming to all.' He fears the bill would make such inclusive religious institutions more vulnerable to hate-motivated attacks, viewing it as a freedom of religion issue. He notes awareness of attacks on similar church signs elsewhere and urges a no vote to maintain protections.
SB464: Sean Lockach, Senior Assistant Attorney General, NH DOJ Civil Rights Unit Oppose00:26:15.840 - 12:25:01 PM; Sean Lockach opposes SB 464, stating it reduces protections under the limited-scope Civil Rights Act (RSA 354-B) against hate-motivated violence, property damage, threats, and trespass. He addresses the bill's changes: 'hostility' is least concerning as it's already implicitly considered but may create litigation disparities; 'substantially' risks vagueness, citing a Manchester case where it led to acquittal in a hate crime trial; the new victim-motivation nexus limits flexibility, excluding indirect victims (e.g., historical freedom riders targeted for association, Laconia State School vandalism instilling community fear, or vandalizing a neighbor's property to target an LGBTQ+ household). He notes 17 of 28 states with civil hate laws lack this nexus for broader protection. He recommends deeming the bill inexpedient to legislate and suggests enhancements like adding harassment, protecting religious institutions, or forming a hate crimes commission. He offers to collaborate on better language to capture intent without underinclusion.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Daryl Abbis, District 22 Support00:45:31.760 - 12:44:17 PM; Senator Abbis introduces SB619, explaining it creates clear procedures for animal confiscation in cruelty cases, developed in collaboration with interest groups and law enforcement. The bill addresses procedural gaps, sets time periods to avoid open-ended cases that can become expensive, and includes a proposed amendment for minor housekeeping changes. He emphasizes its focus on animal cruelty and offers to answer questions.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member Information Only00:46:32.400 - 12:45:18 PM; The member asks about the amendment number and confirms it is 0674, noting they have a binder with it.
SB619 2024-0674s: Sandra (Committee Member) Information Only00:47:57.359 - 12:46:43 PM; Sandra thanks the Senator and asks what incident sparked the need for such prescriptive language in the statute, indicating it wasn't happening before.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Abbis (response) Support00:47:57.359 - 12:46:43 PM; Abbis explains the bill was developed in collaboration with law enforcement and the Humane Society for clarity, though he can't cite a specific incident. He believes it's good policy solving problems in animal cruelty cases.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (follow-up) Information Only00:48:58.800 - 12:47:44 PM; The member seeks confirmation on stakeholder support from the Humane Society and law enforcement.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Carson Support00:48:58.800 - 12:47:44 PM; Senator Carson discusses instances of multiple animal confiscations due to abuse or neglect, highlighting costs to shelters and the need for a bond up to $1,000 per animal to offset care expenses, including veterinary needs. She notes shelters rely on donations but face overwhelming costs for medical cases from neglect.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Abbis (response to Carson) Support00:50:58.720 - 12:49:44 PM; Abbis clarifies the bond acts like civil forfeiture to avoid disposal of animals, paid into court to cover storage and care costs until court determination.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (on amendment) Information Only00:52:00.000 - 12:50:46 PM; The member confirms the amendment removes lines 21-23 (section C) and renumbers subsequent sections.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Abbis (response) Information Only00:52:00.000 - 12:50:46 PM; Abbis agrees the amendment sounds appropriate though he doesn't have it in front of him.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (on bond) Information Only00:52:00.000 - 12:50:46 PM; The member questions the purpose of the bond—whether to ensure court appearance or to cover holding costs—and who benefits if liquidated.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Abbis (response on bond) Information Only00:53:07.839 - 12:51:53 PM; Abbis notes it depends on case outcome and he would need to research procedural details.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (request) Information Only00:53:07.839 - 12:51:53 PM; The member requests no action today due to the collaborating law enforcement officer being on vacation.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (on failure to appear) Information Only00:54:10.480 - 12:52:56 PM; The member asks how to prevent repeated delays by accused failing to appear with 3 days' notice.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Abbis (response on delays) Information Only00:54:10.480 - 12:52:56 PM; Abbis explains courts approve rescheduling only for good cause, and wrongful tactics rarely succeed.
SB619 2024-0674s: Patricia Morris, Barnstead, NH; Chair, Governor's Commission on Humane Treatment of Animals Support00:55:07.359 - 12:53:53 PM; Morris, with 20 years practicing animal law and experience on the Governor's Commission, supports SB619 as amended. The Commission opposes the original bill due to language concerns but supports the amendment, which she helped draft with stakeholders. Personally, she explains the bill provides procedural clarity for courts in animal cruelty cases, where animals can't be stored like other evidence and care costs burden taxpayers if no conviction. It allows courts to address custody, exams, visitation, etc., post-probable cause. She details changes in the amendment: clarifying custody vs. ownership transfer, permissive bond, striking problematic section C, and handling non-appearance to avoid delays harming animals.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (follow-up on bond) Information Only01:00:44.000 - 12:59:30 PM; The member asks what happens to the bond if not guilty, and notes existing bond in RSA 644:8 for appeals.
SB619 2024-0674s: Patricia Morris (response on bond) Support01:00:44.000 - 12:59:30 PM; Morris clarifies bond returns if not guilty; if guilty, offsets care costs. Courts should have leeway for urgent needs like surgery using bond funds. She discusses capping at $1,000 vs. court discretion, noting concerns over stacking with appeal bonds.
SB619 2024-0674s: Lisa Dennison, President and CEO, New Hampshire SPCA; on behalf of NH Federation of Humane Organizations Support01:02:45.599 - 1:01:31 PM; Dennison supports SB619 as amended, addressing judicial efficiency in animal welfare. It builds on 2019's 14-day hearing post-high-profile cases like Great Dane and German Shepherd, which took years and burdened funds and animal health. The bill clarifies bond up to $1,000 per animal at seizure, allows custody transfer to co-owners, and ensures hearings proceed if defendant fails to appear, preventing delays that harm animals.
SB619 2024-0674s: Senator Deborah O'Brien (likely Uler), District 24 Support01:07:42.640 - 1:06:28 PM; Senator O'Brien introduces SB558 to restore the independent administrator for Youth Development Center abuse survivor claims, appointed by Supreme Court without AG veto or governor's at-will removal. She details how 2023 changes undermined the trauma-informed process created in 2002, betraying 1,300 survivors who trusted neutrality. The original system protected both state (avoiding trials) and survivors (confidentiality). Changes allow state control, forcing survivors to trial trauma or give up. She cites Justice Broderick's critiques, average payouts of $543k, and urges restoring fairness over politics.
SB619 2024-0674s: Mark Knight, Attorney Information Only01:17:43.120 - 1:16:29 PM; Knight responds to a procedural question on tolling for claims, noting he can't speak to individual cases but generally tolling starts from knowledge of filing need; clients have already filed lawsuits.
SB619 2024-0674s: Unidentified Committee Member (on tolling) Information Only01:17:43.120 - 1:16:29 PM; The member suggests tolling for minors and interrupts to allow another speaker.
SB558: Mark Knights, Nixon Peabody, Manchester Support01:18:39.440 - 1:17:25 PM; Mark Knights, a partner at Nixon Peabody representing many YDC abuse survivors, supports SB558 to restore neutrality and independence in the settlement fund's administration. He emphasizes that the bill addresses structural issues for claimant confidence, not changes to rewards, guidelines, or attorney fees. Knights explains the fund's original design with an independent judicial branch administrator appointed by the Supreme Court, whose decisions were final, which encouraged survivor participation by pausing court cases. Recent changes undermined this neutrality, leading some survivors to withdraw and resume litigation due to lack of trust in fair outcomes. He argues SB558 restores legitimacy by insulating the administrator from the defendant (state) influence, promoting participation and resolution. Knights notes they take no position on the attorney fees provision and would support the bill without it. During Q&A, he confirms willingness to excise the fees section and shares that his firm has accepted structured fee payments.
SB558: Joel Wigan, Victim Specialist Support01:29:25.120 - 1:28:11 PM; Joel Wigan, a victim specialist with 20 years experience supporting YDC abuse survivors, strongly supports SB558 to reinstate the original trauma-informed settlement fund structure. He describes how the fund provided a respectful alternative to adversarial trials, allowing survivors to share buried traumas without cross-examination, offering predictability, timeliness, and dignity. This process validated survivors, fostering healing and state accountability. However, last year's amendments, made without survivor input, caused fear and betrayal, eroding trust. Wigan urges restoring judicial branch administration for neutral resolutions, emphasizing the fund's role in compassionate confrontation of past abuses. In Q&A, he defers on attorney fees, stating as a non-attorney he supports the bill regardless to achieve neutrality.
SB558: Johnny Place, YDC Survivor Support01:36:03.600 - 1:34:49 PM; Johnny Place, a 47-year-old YDC survivor abused at age 13, supports SB558, sharing his traumatic experiences of abuse, escape, and lifelong impacts. He describes being confined without education or normal childhood, escaping and building a life despite state efforts to portray him as bad. Place filed a claim in the settlement fund but feels betrayed by changes that undermine its fairness, forcing public testimony he wished to avoid. He recounts disbelief from authorities as a child and adult, including state police dismissing his story. Place highlights ongoing state retaliation, like attempts to institutionalize his son due to grudges. He argues no amount compensates the torture but urges restoring the fund's original direction for justice, emphasizing survivors' deserving treatment despite lies from former staff.
SB558: Chuck Miles, YDC Survivor Support01:43:21.040 - 1:42:07 PM; Chuck Miles, a YDC survivor of eight years of abuse starting in fifth grade, supports SB558, noting the emotional difficulty of testifying and reliving pain. He questions the lack of accountability for the state compared to expectations placed on survivors post-release, highlighting the injustice of being held responsible while the state faces no consequences for its actions.
SB558: Anonymous Survivor (from West Palm Beach, FL) Support01:44:31.520 - 1:43:17 PM; The speaker, nearly 60 years old and a successful businessman, shares his traumatic experiences of abuse at the Anna Philbrook Center, including rape and isolation, starting from fifth grade. He describes the facility's dehumanizing conditions and subsequent placements in group homes where he was further mistreated and isolated from peers. He expresses skepticism towards the settlement process due to past betrayals by the state, emphasizing that the state defunded the settlement fund abruptly without consulting victims. He praises Attorney John Formella's initial role but criticizes the state's decision to control the fund, comparing it to letting perpetrators judge their own cases, like Epstein or bin Laden. He urges fairness and reinstatement of an independent administrator like John Broderick for closure, highlighting ongoing emotional and neurological trauma from childhood abuse.
SB558: And Zimmerman (Attorney, Manchester, NH) with Michaela Oliver Support01:57:00.400 - 1:55:46 PM; Attorney Zimmerman represents YDC victims in the settlement fund process. She shares a story of a client who received closure through the fund before dying of cancer, emphasizing the fund's role in providing acknowledgment and responsibility from the state. She describes current clients as stuck in limbo without an administrator, feeling abandoned after reliving traumas to participate. She supports keeping attorney fees over time as originally structured to avoid upfront burdens on the fund. During questioning, she confirms willingness to accept fees over time, notes anxiety over executive branch involvement due to conflict of interest, and stresses the need for a fair, neutral process to resume.
SB558: Samantha Herring (Attorney, NH Association for Justice) Support02:05:00.320 - 2:03:46 PM; Attorney Herring represents claimants before the YDC fund and supports SB558 to move the process forward for traumatized clients. She echoes calls for an impartial, fair, neutral administrator with final decision-making authority, not subject to veto by the state as defendant. She agrees to take fees over the same duration as clients if the law remains as is. In questioning, she clarifies that some early cases paid fees upfront but her firm adjusted to over time to ease fund burdens, notes resistance from some firms initially but compliance before amendments, and advocates for non-political appointment to ensure impartiality.
SB558: David (YDC Survivor) Support02:10:40.239 - 2:09:26 PM; David, 64 years old, testifies on the need for impartiality and neutrality in the settlement process, questioning why the original agreement was changed. He expresses loss of faith in the system due to past traumas but seeks healing through a fair resolution. He emphasizes that impartiality is essential for trust, not a 'dirty word,' and urges the committee to do the right thing by reinstating an independent arbiter, forgiving past wrongs while highlighting the impact on thousands of victims.
SB558: Jeff Merrill (YDC Survivor) Support02:18:25.439 - 2:17:11 PM; Jeff Merrill shares his traumatic experiences at the Filbert Center and YDC as a teenager, including being strapped down and injected with thorazine, lack of education, and being treated as a 'lifer' with no visitors. He describes how a friend encouraged him to come forward despite his reluctance to revisit his painful past. He supports the settlement fund as it provides an easier path for survivors to receive compensation without the stress of testifying in court, which makes him nervous. He criticizes the current process as unfair, comparing it to a conflict of interest where the same entity acts as both opponent and mediator, and urges the committee to do the right thing.
SB558: Johnny (YDC Survivor) Support02:23:24.479 - 2:22:10 PM; Johnny expresses concern about survivors who are addicts receiving settlement funds, noting a recent case where someone died from a drug overdose after getting the money. As a survivor himself, he wants all victims to get justice and survive, suggesting a way to protect those at risk from misusing the funds and succumbing to drugs.
SB414: Senator Deborah Altschiller (District 24) Support02:39:55.200 - 2:38:41 PM; Senator Altschiller testifies in support of SB414, highlighting repeated cases where women, after winning no-fault divorces, face ex-spouses ignoring court orders for alimony, child support, insurance, and mortgage payments. She describes the lengthy process of filing contempt motions, waiting months for hearings, accruing debt, and still facing no enforcement, leaving aggrieved parties punished for the ex's behavior. She quotes a constituent's frustration and emphasizes the bill's provision for immediate remedies to rectify contempt, urging the committee to recommend it ought to pass. She introduces Sue Schwarz for personal testimony and responds to questions, noting cases involve ability to pay but deliberate delay and abuse of the system, often as power and control tactics post-divorce.
SB414: Sue Schwarz (Constituent, formerly Mont Vernon, NH) Support02:48:53.520 - 2:47:39 PM; Sue Schwarz details her abusive marriage and divorce from her ex-husband, a successful car dealership CEO, marked by infidelity, physical, emotional, and financial abuse. After a 2022 trial awarding her divorce and a substantial settlement including alimony, health insurance, legal fees, and debt coverage, her ex has ignored all obligations for nearly two years. Despite court orders, he stopped alimony after five months, canceled insurance, failed to secure life insurance, and dissipated over $2 million in marital assets on a boat, car for his girlfriend, refinancing, and a business franchise while committing mortgage fraud and buying a new house. She has filed multiple ignored contempt motions, accrued massive debt, faced false police charges, and alarm system tampering by her ex, leading to family estrangement and forcing her to sell her house. She criticizes Judge Bedrick for non-enforcement and lack of repercussions, highlighting systemic failures like ignored complaints and the burden on victims. She supports the bill for immediate relief mechanisms.

Gannon, Bill(Chairman)(R)[B-]2025	Abbas, Daryl(V Chairman)(R)[B-]2025	Carson, Sharon(R)[B]2025
Altschiller, Debra(D)[CT]2025	Reardon, Tara(D)[F]2025