Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Prostitution Penalties Trafficking topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House debates and adopts committee report on bill increasing penalty for patrons of prostitution
Summary
The House debated Senate Bill 267 on penalties for patrons of prostitution, including mandatory fines intended to fund anti-trafficking efforts. Members clashed over mandatory minimums, effectiveness and whether the measure unfairly shifts costs to buyers rather than system funding; the committee report was adopted after votes.
The New Hampshire House debated Senate Bill 267, a bill that would change penalties for patrons of prostitution and include a mandatory fine intended to fund anti‑trafficking efforts.
Supporters argued targeting buyers helps reduce demand for commercial sexual exploitation and places financial responsibility on those who drive trafficking. Representative Nancy Murphy said arresting and sanctioning buyers "are law enforcement's most effective, most effective tools for reducing the prevalence and harms of prostitution and human trafficking." She urged adoption, describing the policy as a bipartisan tool to reduce exploitation.
Opponents criticized mandatory minimum penalties and questioned their effectiveness and unintended consequences. Representative Scheer said "this is yet another mandatory minimum bill that does nothing" and argued a mandatory $500 fine would not deter behavior, asserting that using fines to fund programs should be done through the budget process rather than by statute.
Representative Harrington urged tabling early in the discussion, citing "a lot of unintended consequences that haven't been properly discussed," including concerns about who carries criminal exposure and whether the bill's structure properly addresses trafficking networks.
A motion to table the bill was put but failed on a roll call, allowing floor debate and eventual votes on the committee report. The House ultimately adopted the committee report after debate and recorded roll-call tallies in the House proceedings.
Floor remarks centered on deterrence, funding mechanisms for anti‑trafficking programs, whether mandatory monetary penalties are appropriately enacted in statute rather than the budget, and balancing law enforcement tools to protect victims with the risk of imposing blanket mandatory penalties.
