Senate Republicans Sustain Sununu’s Criminal Justice Reform Veto
Contact Name: Sara Persechino
Phone: (603) 271-3479
Email: Sara.Persechino@leg.state.nh.us
CONCORD - Today, Senate Republicans voted to sustain Governor Sununu’s veto of SB 311, Senator Martha Hennessey’s (D-Hanover) criminal justice reform bill to provide for an annulment of a criminal record without payment of a fee in certain cases and specify a waiting period for the annulment of simple possession drug-related offenses.
After the vote, prime sponsor Senator Martha Hennessey (D-Hanover) issued the following statement:
“Every day, across the nation, we see the disproportionate consequences for low-income individuals engaged in our criminal justice system. Rather than keeping the focus of correction on rehabilitation, education, and restoration, we see how even low level criminal records can be used to limit employment opportunities and deny an individual housing. That hurts the individual, their families, the community, and the state. SB 311 would have created a more equitable system of justice, allowing individuals in good standing, who have met their obligations to the state or, whose arrest has resulted in a finding of not guilty, to continue their pursuit of happiness. I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues could not put politics aside today to support a criminal justice system that works for all.”
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