HB 1737-FN
relative to reinstating the death penalty for certain offenses against minors under 13 years of age.
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 | 2/19/2026 |
| LSR number | 2362 |
| 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
Belcher, Mike(R) Carr 4, Perez, Kristine(R) Rock 16, Sirois, Shane(R) Hills 32, Terry, Paul(R) Belk 7
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 14, 2026Public Hearing: 01/14/2026 03:30 pm GP 159
- January 23, 2026Public Hearing: 01/23/2026 01:00 pm GP 159
- February 4, 2026Executive Session: 02/04/2026 10:00 am GP 159
- February 10, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/04/2026 (Vote 13-0; CC)
- February 19, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/19/2026
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
The committee, after hearing hours of testimony and from hundreds of New Hampshire citizens, came to the unanimous conclusion that this bill should be recommended as inexpedient to legislate. The overwhelming majority of New Hampshire citizens do not wish for the death penalty to be reinstated under any circumstances. With regard to this specific bill, we heard testimony that the vast majority of crimes against children are perpetrated by either a family member or someone close to the family. The thought that their coming forward could result in the death of a close family member, no matter how evil they may be, would likely lead to many children not coming forward at all, thus enabling their abuser to continue harming them or others. Furthermore, perpetrators after realizing what they have done and the fact that they could face death, may come to the conclusion that it would be best to permanently silence their victim. In other words, if they face the death penalty either way, they may determine they have nothing to lose by removing the one person who could send them there. Vote 13-0.
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 14, 2026 at 15:30Criminal Justice and Public Safety public hearing recording 7:22:30–7:23:00, about 0 min (estimated)
- January 23, 2026 at 13:00Criminal Justice and Public Safety public hearing recording 4:43:00–4:52:00, about 9 min (estimated)
- February 4, 2026 at 10:00Criminal Justice and Public Safety executive session recording 2:09:48–2:11:30, about 2 min (estimated)
- February 19, 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]