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NH committee hears bill to move incumbent officer fitness checks from three to five years
Summary
Supporters told the committee the bill would ease retention and recruitment by reducing high‑stakes testing for veteran officers; opponents, including police trainers, warned the change risks public safety and urged strengthening standards instead of extending testing intervals.
Representative Elena Colby introduced House Bill 18‑05, which would extend incumbent law‑enforcement physical‑fitness recertification from every three years to every five years and allow a voluntary exemption for officers with 19 or more years of service. Colby told the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee the change is aimed at improving recruitment and retention amid significant statewide declines in sworn officers, calling it “a legislative tourniquet to effectively slow the bleed.”
Colby cited Bureau of Labor Statistics figures she said showed notable drops in patrol staffing and argued the Cooper Institute test currently used can disqualify otherwise capable officers over small margins.…
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