A spokesman for Chris Sununu says the governor plans to sign into law House Bill 471, which the New Hampshire House passed on Thursday to provide greater access to information about dishonest police officers. The bill would for the first time make public the exculpatory evidence schedule, commonly known as the Laurie List, which the Department of Justice maintains to keep track of officers disciplined for lying, use of unnecessary force, and other infractions.
HB 471 also requires that police disciplinary hearings would be open to the public unless doing so would reveal certain confidential information.
The bill resolves a disagreement about police officers’ privacy rights which has held up the enforcement of rulings by the Hillsborough County Superior Court South and, on appeal by the state, by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Both bodies agreed that the exculpatory evidence schedule is a public document. The compromise legislation carves out an opportunity for an officer whose name appears on the list to seek a delay in the release of that information to allow for a due process appeal.
State Of Emergency Ends
As of midnight Friday, New Hampshire will no longer be under Governor Chris Sununu’s official state of emergency, but he said the COVID-19 “public health incident” remains in place, allowing some flexibility and liability protection for health- care providers administering the vaccines.
Sununu was denied permission from the federal government to send half of the state’s allotment of vaccines to Canada in order to more quickly open the border. The state has seen a reduction in demand for the vaccines, while the supply has exceeded the demand. New Hampshire depends upon tourism from Canada, and Sununu said he has been meeting with officials to try to reopen the border.
Sununu attended a kickoff event for Laconia Motorcycle Week at Weirs Beach on Thursday morning prior to his press conference. Charlie St.Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Association, said Canadians account for about seven percent of all visitors to the rally, which opens on Saturday. Even without the Canadian bikers, St. Clair said there is a great deal of demand for hotel reservations from around the United States.
Under-The-Radar Bills
There has not been a lot of publicity on some of the bills passed by the House on Thursday. Among them: Online platforms that facilitate the private rentals of automobiles and homes now are subject to the state’s rooms and meals tax. The bill was designed to erase the discrepancy between private rentals and businesses that collect the tax on their rentals.
Another change would remove the “reckless conduct” label from someone displaying a firearm. Once Sununu signs the bill, there will be nothing illegal about pulling a weapon as long as it is not used.
The House also passed a bill that prohibits municipalities from regulating a lemonade or soft drink stand by anyone under 14 years old, if it is on his or her property.
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Sharing this! Thanks, Tom!