Governor, law enforcement and mayors back magistrate-backed amendment to adjust PR bail for repeat offenders; advocates urge caution

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety subcommittee heard extended testimony on House Bill 592 and a governor-supported amendment that would restrict release for people who repeatedly fail to appear, violate bail conditions or commit new offenses while on release.

Miles Matheson of the governor’s office told the committee the amendment is “designed to protect our communities, protect law enforcement,” and to close “a revolving door whereby repeat offenders are exposed to the community and committing crimes again.” Tom Velarde, director of the Department of Justice’s Division of Public Protection, cited national studies and local case examples and said empirical evidence supports tailoring a mechanism to address a small subset of offenders who repeatedly reenter the system.

Law-enforcement leaders and municipal officials told the panel the change is necessary. Mayor Jay Ruad of Manchester said repeat and violent offenders “have no place on the streets of the city of Manchester or other municipalities in our state,” citing local data showing people arrested multiple times and a subset of defendants arrested while already out on bail. Patrick Sullivan of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police and Major Chad Lavoie of the State Police both testified in favor, saying the amendment restores certain pre‑2018 bail provisions that have inhibited detention of high-risk individuals.

Supporters emphasized the amendment will not return the state to wholesale money bail but will give judges discretion to detain dangerous repeat offenders and to consider failure-to-appear histories and violations of bond conditions. “Judges have the discretion to be able to look in those circumstances and keep those individuals detained,” the governor’s office testimony said. Major Chris Basha of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office described how sheriff’s deputies regularly execute warrants for defendants who frequently are rebooked and quickly re-released, creating enforcement risks and strain on resources.

Civil-rights and defense groups urged caution. Melissa Davis of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Amanda Zod of the ACLU of New Hampshire said the state should allow the magistrate-based system created in recent bail reform to operate before rewinding protections. Davis noted the reforms reduced imprisonments based on inability to pay; Zod said research shows pretrial detention increases recidivism and produces other collateral harms.

Court officials urged lawmakers to consider logistics. Erin Kriegen, general counsel for the Judicial Branch, asked the committee to consider sunsetting or phasing changes in a way that preserves the magistrates the legislature recently approved; she noted magistrates move many first-appearance and preliminary matters that otherwise would consume judge time and cost more.

The committee did not vote on the amendment during the hearing. Several members signaled they plan a subcommittee to coordinate drafting with the governor’s office, the courts and law-enforcement stakeholders before producing final language.