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House strengthens penalties for trafficking of children; supporters and opponents clash over enforcement strategy
Summary
Lawmakers approved a bill increasing penalties for trafficking persons under 18 after an emotionally charged debate about mandatory minimums, prosecution capacity and the best way to help victims.
The House on May 1 approved legislation increasing penalties for trafficking of persons under age 18, a bill supporters said would bring state law closer to federal statutes and opponents warned could push trafficking deeper underground without improving convictions.
Representative Sarah (first name not specified in the transcript) urged lawmakers to reject the measure, arguing mandatory minimum increases "really doesn't address the problem" because convictions for child trafficking in recent years were rare and the underlying challenge is investigative capacity and victim support.
"If we really wanna deal with this problem, we fund county attorney's offices better so that they can do the sophisticated investigation that is important for dealing with *** trafficking in children," she said, noting that in the last five years there had been very few prosecutions and no convictions in the cases she reviewed.
Representative Rose (speaking for the committee majority) said the state needs stronger penalties and brought New Hampshire law closer to federal statutes; he urged passage so the state would not be an easier jurisdiction for traffickers to exploit. The House adopted the majority committee report and later passed the bill on a recorded vote of 290-71.
The debate focused less on the existence of the crime — which speakers uniformly condemned — and more on whether tougher sentencing would help victims or hinder prosecution by driving offenders further underground. Advocates on both sides urged more resources for investigations and victim services, while the House ultimately approved the measure and returned it to the legislative process for any additional required steps.
Lawmakers did not specify new appropriation amounts for enforcement or victim services on the House floor; several members recommended funding and programmatic follow‑up to improve prosecution rates and victim support.
