HB 1509-FN
relative to judicial immunity and permitting civil actions against judicial officers for certain criminal bail decisions.
Official record at gencourt.state.nh.us ↗Open this bill in the searchable view → · Follow this bill by RSS
On the record
Quoted from the General Court bill status page, not worked out from the docket.
| Status | HOUSE |
|---|---|
| In the House | INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE |
| Introduced | 1/7/2026 |
| Floor date | 2/12/2026 |
| LSR number | 2542 |
| Local government impact | no |
| Committee code | H10 |
Where it stands
House: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
Every floor vote on this bill was a voice or division vote, so there is no record of how individual legislators voted.
A bill goes on the consent calendar when the committee vote was unanimous or nearly so, and any members who dissented did not object to placing it there. It then passes without floor debate. Ten members may file a petition to pull a bill off the consent calendar and have it debated and voted on separately.
Sponsors
Trottier, Douglas(R) Belk 8, Berry, Ross(R) Hills 44, Coker, Matthew(R) Belk 2, Comtois, Barbara(R) Belk 7, Ploszaj, Tom(R) Belk 1
Prime sponsor in bold. From the General Court sponsor file.
What happened
Every action recorded in the official docket, in order. Each line ends with the journal or calendar that recorded it; where we have the document, that citation links to it.
- January 7, 2026Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary
- January 28, 2026Public Hearing: 01/28/2026 11:00 am GP 230
- January 28, 2026Executive Session: 01/28/2026 11:00 am GP 230
- February 2, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 01/28/2026 (Vote 16-2; CC)
- February 12, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/12/2026
Votes
Roll call tallies and individual votes from the General Court roll call files. Presiding, excused and absent are shown separately: one member presides over each House roll call and does not vote except to break a tie.
Inexpedient to Legislate
Decided on a voice vote. Only the outcome was recorded — there is no count of how any member voted.
Committee reports
Reproduced from the House Calendar in the committee’s own words.
Committee — INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
This bill would subject judicial officers to civil lawsuits when a defendant released on bail later commits a criminal offense or tort. The committee believes this would undermine judicial independence and fundamentally distort bail decision-making in New Hampshire. Bail determinations are core judicial acts requiring the exercise of discretion under RSA 597:2–6, based on limited information available at the time of arraignment, statutory factors, and constitutional principles. Imposing personal liability would encourage overly restrictive or reflexive detention decisions driven by fear of personal exposure rather than individualized assessments, conflicting with Part I, Articles 15 and 35 of the New Hampshire Constitution. New Hampshire already provides accountability through appellate review, bail review hearings, ethical oversight by the Judicial Conduct Committee, and impeachment where warranted. Allowing civil suits in this context would be inconsistent with long-standing judicial immunity doctrine, would deter qualified individuals from judicial service, and would erode public confidence by converting discretionary judicial decisions into hindsight-driven liability judgments. Additional concerns include the difficulty of finding judges willing to preside over bail matters if this bill is enacted, as well as potential conflicts with judges’ obligations under the Judicial Code of Conduct. Vote 16-2.
Hearings and recordings
Recordings are the General Court’s own, on YouTube. Start times are estimates unless stated otherwise, and the player opens early.
- January 28, 2026 at 11:00Judiciary public hearing recording 1:35:21–1:48:42, about 13 min (estimated)
- January 28, 2026 at 11:00Judiciary executive session recording (start time not identified)
- February 12, 2026House floor debate recording (start time not identified)
Page generated 2026-09-03 from data published by the New Hampshire General Court. Granite Record is an independent project, not affiliated with the General Court. The official record always takes precedence. Corrections: [email protected]