Another vote, thanks to you

New Hampshire’s Civil Asset Forfeiture bill, H.B. 636, is scheduled for another work session on Tuesday, February 16.

Thanks to your phone calls, this important issue is being taken seriously and is being afforded another opportunity to be voted upon.

Please continue to call and email the members of the House Finance Committee TODAY and urge them to pass this bill out of committee, without amendment, so it can get a full vote:

Representative Lynne Ober, Chairman
(603)883-9654
lynne.ober@comcast.net

Representative David Danielson, Vice Chairman
(603)472-3833
david.danielson@leg.state.nh.us

Representative J. Tracy Emerick
(603)926-8316
tracy.emerick@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Neal Kurk
(603)529-7253
rep03281@aol.com

Representative Peter Spanos
(603)524-2960
peterjspanos@gmail.com

Representative Timothy Twombly
(603)888-4466
timothy.twombly@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Peter Leishman
(603)924-0004
prleishman@aol.com

Representative William Hatch
(603)466-9491
William.Hatch@leg.state.nh.us

Representative Marjorie Smith
(603)868-7500
msmithpen@aol.com

Representative Robert Walsh
(603)622-1023
bobwalsh2@comcast.net

Civil forfeiture laws create a perverse incentive for police to target and seize property INSTEAD of targeting, investigating, and proving actual criminal behavior.  H.B. 636 would reform civil asset forfeiture and put an end to this attack on property rights.

After you call and email the members of the committee, sign your petition to let your legislators know that you want an end to “policing for profit” in New Hampshire.

Civil forfeiture has become big business in New Hampshire, and it allows the government to seize your cash, cars, and even your house, based on the mere suspicion of a crime.

The New Hampshire police who take your property will receive up to 90% of the proceeds – even if you haven’t been found guilty!

H.B. 636 is a good step toward reform, as it requires the state to deposit proceeds from forfeited property in the general fund, curbing the financial incentive of law enforcement to take your property.

The legal theory behind civil forfeiture is that your property is guilty of a crime – not you. And since it is a civil procedure, NONE of the protections that would apply to a criminal proceeding are in place.

Your property is presumed guilty. If you can’t prove it is “innocent,” you can lose it – even if you have not been accused of any wrongdoing!

Your New Hampshire representatives are under pressure to continue to allow this horrible practice.

That’s why it is so urgent that you call and email the members of the House Finance Committee TODAY and urge them to vote this bill out of committee, without amendment, so it will have a chance for passage.

We need your help to dial up the heat to ensure that civil asset forfeiture and “Policing for Profit” in New Hampshire end immediately.

After you contact the members of the committee, sign your petition, then forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to do the same.