HB 1510-FN
relative to responsibility for the custody or control of persons ordered to a county correctional facility.
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 | 3/5/2026 |
| LSR number | 2543 |
| Local government impact | no |
| Committee code | H26 |
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
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 Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- January 21, 2026Public Hearing: 01/21/2026 03:00 pm GP 159
- February 18, 2026Full Committee Work Session: 02/18/2026 10:00 am GP159
- February 18, 2026Executive Session: 02/18/2026 03:00 pm GP 159
- February 24, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/18/2026 (Vote 12-0; CC)
- March 5, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/05/2026
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 seeks to mandate an immediate transfer of legal custody and financial responsibility to county departments of corrections that is both impractical and fiscally irresponsible. Currently, legal custody is a coordinated process between arresting agencies and correctional facilities. This bill would force counties to assume legal “custody and control” of a defendant the moment a court order is issued, regardless of whether that individual has actually arrived at the facility or is still being processed by local police. The committee heard compelling testimony from the New Hampshire Association of Counties regarding the “significant yet indeterminable costs” this bill would impose. By shifting legal custody prematurely, the bill would force county taxpayers to absorb massive, unbudgeted expenses, including overtime for hospital watches and medical costs for defendants who have not yet even entered the jail’s gates. Furthermore, the bill creates a “custody vacuum” during transport; by stripping other law enforcement agencies of their legal responsibility once an order is signed, it creates a dangerous ambiguity regarding who is liable if a defendant escapes or requires medical intervention while in transit. New Hampshire’s current system correctly places responsibility on the agency physically holding the defendant. This bill is an unfunded mandate that prioritizes administrative convenience over public safety and fiscal responsibility, and the committee found no evidence that the current system of shared responsibility is failing. Vote 12-0.
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 21, 2026 at 15:00Criminal Justice and Public Safety public hearing recording 5:20:26–5:26:32, about 6 min (estimated)
- February 18, 2026 at 10:00Criminal Justice and Public Safety full committee work session recording 0:37:30–0:38:00, about 0 min (estimated)
- February 18, 2026 at 15:00Criminal Justice and Public Safety executive session recording 2:55:30–2:56:00, about 0 min (estimated)
- March 5, 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]