by Mike Sylvia
This Thursday, May 11, HB614 goes to the New Hampshire Senate floor. We received a bad recommendation from the judiciary committee with a vote of 4-1 to kill the bill. Let’s all push the message on social media, in the press, and our email lists. We can overturn the recommendation by refuting the law enforcement claim that this bill is devastating to their opioid battle.
As you can see (above), over the four year period only ten agencies had forfeitures of greater than $100,000 and went through equitable sharing. All others would fall below the bar set by HB614. In total, over four years, $411,882 would have been diverted if HB614 had been in place.
The main benefit of HB614 is that it provides the due process protections, embodied in our state’s law, to 92% of cases currently diverted through the federal equitable sharing program. The cost of HB614 is a shift in the distribution of the proceeds into the AG’s forfeiture fund and to DHHS. This is a very reasonable trade and hardly ‘devastating.’
Let’s ring the senator’s phones and fill their emails; we need to let them know that due process is a right we are required to protect.
Rep. Mike Sylvia
Belmont, NH
603-707-8594
