NH committee hears bill to move incumbent officer fitness checks from three to five years

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. “Law enforcement agencies shouldn't lose competent officers over minor fitness setbacks,” she said.

Proponents including municipal chiefs and veteran officers testified they supported a longer interval and local flexibility. John Santoro, chief of the Plaistow Police Department, said extending the testing cycle to five years would broaden the candidate pool and retain institutional knowledge, while emphasizing his preference for “holistic wellness” over one‑day performance tests.

Opponents urged caution. Chief Tim Crowley of Atkinson, who has decades of training experience, urged the committee to retain or strengthen the three‑year incumbent standard. Crowley said suspension rates after testing are “in the single digits” and described fitness standards that are age‑ and gender‑adjusted; he warned that weakening requirements would reduce daily preparedness and overall officer wellness.

John Skipper, director of the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council, told the committee the council has been working on a job‑task analysis and is prepared to propose an amendment that requires a uniform medical examination every three years and allows local agencies to file wellness policies with the council. Skipper said the council’s preference is to move to verified medical examinations tied to essential job functions and to provide chiefs with an administrative pathway for objective re‑testing if questions arise.

Committee members probed the choice of a 19‑year exemption and pressed how local differences in patrol duties would be handled. Colby said the 19‑year breakpoint was designed to serve as a retention incentive inside a five‑year testing cycle and to let municipalities adopt tailored local fitness standards for longer‑service officers.

The committee did not take a final vote; members asked the sponsor and Skipper to circulate the council’s amendment language so they could consider technical changes in executive session. The hearing made clear the split between retention‑focused proponents and training‑focused opponents, and lawmakers said they would weigh the council’s proposed compromise before advancing the measure.