Committee Summary for Senate Children and Family Law (02/20/2025)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
SB278 00:03:29.560 - 8:32:30 AM	Public Hearing	including qualifying convictions from other states as grounds for termination of parental rights petitions.	Prentiss, Suzanne(D)[F]2025
SB161 2025-0514s 00:19:59.600 - 8:49:00 AM	Public Hearing	(New Title) making technical corrections to statutes governing out-of-state placements for children.	Birdsell, Regina(R)[B-]2025
SB278 00:28:45.640 - 8:57:46 AM	Executive Session	including qualifying convictions from other states as grounds for termination of parental rights petitions.	Prentiss, Suzanne(D)[F]2025
SB161 2025-0514s 00:30:18.600 - 8:59:19 AM	Executive Session	(New Title) making technical corrections to statutes governing out-of-state placements for children.	Birdsell, Regina(R)[B-]2025
SB72 2025-0527s 00:31:49.880 - 9:00:50 AM	Executive Session	(New Title) establishing a parental bill of rights.	Lang, Timothy(R)[B-]2025

SB278: Tommy O'Neal, Minority Caucus Director, representing Senator Suzanne Prentice from District 5 Support00:03:29.560 - 8:32:30 AM; Tommy O'Neal introduced Senate Bill 278 on behalf of Senator Suzanne Prentice, the prime sponsor of the bill. The bill was requested by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to amend RSA 170-C:5 in response to a New Hampshire Supreme Court decision. The amendment aims to clarify that qualifying convictions for termination of parental rights include equivalent convictions from other states. Representatives from the department were present to provide further information and answer questions.
SB278: Susan Laraby, General Counsel and Legislative Liaison for DCF Support00:04:49.199 - 8:33:50 AM; Susan Laraby provided detailed background information on the current RSA 170-C, which outlines the civil process for termination of parental rights petitions. She explained that the bill pertains to section VII of RSA 170-C:5, which lists certain convictions as grounds for termination, including murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and various degrees of assault and sexual assault. She noted that the existing law references New Hampshire criminal statutes but does not explicitly mention equivalent convictions from other states, unlike a more recently added section of the chapter. Laraby discussed a Supreme Court case that upheld a termination based on a conviction from another state, but highlighted a dissenting opinion suggesting clearer statutory language. She emphasized the importance of clarifying the law to make it understandable to non-lawyers and supported the bill's aim to include equivalent convictions from other states.
SB161 2025-0514s: Regina Birdsell, State Senator for District 19 (Derry, Hampstead, Windham) Support00:19:59.600 - 8:49:00 AM; Senator Birdsell, the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 161, explained that the bill was requested by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services as remedial legislation to Senate Bill 417 from the previous year. She stated that SB161 aims to replace references to placements for children contracted with the Department with placements in New England deemed necessary and appropriate by the court. She mentioned that members of the department were present to answer any questions from the committee.
SB161 2025-0514s: Susan Laraby, General Counsel and Legislative Liaison for DCF Support00:20:45.720 - 8:49:46 AM; Susan Laraby discussed the replace all amendment to Senate Bill 161. She provided context from the previous legislative session, explaining how House Bill 1573 and Senate Bill 417 expanded oversight of children in residential treatment. She detailed how these bills enhanced the certification process, monitoring by the Bureau of Children's Behavioral Health, and court oversight of placements. Laraby mentioned that over the summer, DCF and stakeholders, including the Office of the Child Advocate, worked to update policies and implement the bills. She highlighted discovered inconsistencies between the two bills and explained how the replace all amendment addressed these issues, specifically referencing changes on page one of the amendment. Laraby confirmed that the amendment would align the language and address a scrivener's error.
SB161 2025-0514s: Cassandra Sanchez, Child Advocate for the State of New Hampshire Support00:27:10.039 - 8:56:11 AM; Cassandra Sanchez, along with Attorney Lisa Massio, supported the replace all amendment. Sanchez confirmed that the amendment accurately reflected the intent of Senate Bill 417 and House Bill 1573. She noted that there was confusion in previous versions of the legislation regarding when director approval was needed for out-of-state placements, and the amendment corrected this. Sanchez was available to answer any questions from the committee.
SB278: Committee Members Support00:28:45.640 - 8:57:46 AM; The committee moved to pass Senate Bill 278. There was acknowledgment of a dissenting opinion in a Supreme Court case related to the bill, but it was agreed that the bill was a good housekeeping measure to address a retroactive application issue. The motion to pass was approved by the committee.
SB161 2025-0514s: Committee Members Support00:30:18.600 - 8:59:19 AM; The committee discussed Senate Bill 161 and moved to pass it with the amendment 2025-0514s. It was noted that there were some mistakes in the original bill due to the 11th-hour negotiations in the previous session's committee of conference. The amendment was adopted, and the bill was recommended to pass as amended.
SB72 2025-0527s: Committee Members Support00:31:49.880 - 9:00:50 AM; The committee moved to pass Senate Bill 72 with amendment 2025-0527s. The amendment was discussed in detail, including clarifications on the compelling state interest, applicability to private schools, and grammatical corrections. There was debate over the standard of evidence required for infringement claims, with a preference for 'preponderance of the evidence' over 'clear and convincing evidence'. The amendment also addressed the inclusion of mental health treatment and the removal of a section about attorney fees. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill as amended, with a vote of two to one.