The House voted 205-170 to approve the sweeping bail reform bill sought by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, rejecting Democratic attempts to soften it, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. The measure would lower the standard of proof prosecutors need to hold a violent crime suspect without bail from clear and convincing evidence to probable cause. Law-enforcement professionals filled the gallery as the House debated.
The chamber turned aside softening amendments before the final vote, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The House of Representatives voted 205-170 to approve the measure after it rejected attempts by Democratic critics to soften it.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne tied the effort to the mandate voters handed Republicans, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said Ayotte had made the issue a top priority during her campaign for governor, and the entire GOP leadership team backed that decision.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Ayotte hailed the outcome in a statement after the vote, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
“Today the House brought us one step closer to shutting the revolving door for violent criminals,” Ayotte said in a statement after the vote.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The governor responded to the vote, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
“Today the House brought us one step closer to shutting the revolving door for violent criminals,”
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The bill central change is significant, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The most significant change would lower the standard of proof that prosecutors need to convince a judge that someone accused of a violent crime is dangerous enough to be held without bail.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
In his own words, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne framed it this way, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Upholding law and order and finishing our work to fix New Hampshire’s bail system were a key part of the mandate which voters handed us when they sent a Republican trifecta to represent them in Concord,
Jason Osborne
The House turned aside Democratic attempts to soften the bill before approving it, with law-enforcement professionals watching from the gallery. The measure would lower the threshold for holding a violent crime suspect without bail from clear and convincing evidence to probable cause, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Osborne tied the vote to the broader mandate he said voters gave Republicans to address public safety. Ayotte, who made the issue a centerpiece of her campaign, welcomed the outcome as a step toward closing the revolving door for violent offenders, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Committee Chairman Terry Roy said the new majority intended to pass a Republican bail bill, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports. Leaders said the vote moved the state closer to the tougher bail standard Ayotte had sought.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
