Ayotte and opponents make final pitches on bill to roll back bail reform law
Gov. Kelly Ayotte speaks at a press conference to urge the passage of House Bill 592, which would undo large parts of a 2018 bail reform law, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin)
Advocates on both sides of New Hampshire's bail law debate have waged competing influence campaigns ahead of a pivotal House vote Thursday on a bill to roll back the state's 2018 bail reform laws.
House Bill 592, supported by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, would tighten the standards for determining bail for people who are arrested, and would eliminate a magistrate system created last year intended to allow bail hearings on weekends. That would undo much of what passed in 2018 in a bill intended to reduce the number of people held in jail the ability to pay bail.
For people charged with a series of violent offenses, the bill would require courts to find whether there is 'probable cause' that they are a danger to themselves or others, or that they are likely not to appear at future court hearings. Currently the standard for dangerousness is 'clear and convincing' evidence.
The bill received a recommendation of 'ought to pass' from the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee in late February, but it will need a majority approval vote from the full House Thursday to advance to the Senate. One influential libertarian group, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, has called on representatives to vote it down.
On Wednesday, Ayotte held a press conference packed with state police, local police officers, lawmakers, and county attorneys, urging the Legislature to pass the bill. An amendment recommended by the committee last month aligns the bill to Ayotte's own proposed bail law in her budget trailer bill.
'The 2018 law — it came from a national movement,' Ayotte said. 'And what happens sometimes is these national movements don't fit our state. And I think that's what happened here.'
Speaking to reporters, Ayotte said she is recommending eliminating the magistrate system because inserting non-judges into the bail process created more issues than it solved. She argued the positions, which were intended to help accused people obtain bail certainty on weekends, are not necessary.
'In my experience as a prosecutor, judges do work weekends. I've been to many judges' houses in the middle of the night to get a search warrant,' she said.
The press conference came a week after Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais penned a letter to lawmakers in support of the law with seven other mayors, including Paul Callahan of Rochester; Robert Carrier of Dover; Byron Champlin of Concord; Robert Cone of Berlin; Dale Girard of Claremont; Jay Kahn of Keene; and Desiree McLaughlin of Franklin.
'Like many municipalities, we have vacancies in our police departments that make an already trying job more difficult,' the letter stated. 'This problem compounds itself when criminals cycle through a process of arrest and release, only to be arrested again.'
But critics of the law say it will make it far too easy — and likely — for courts to hold people in jail ahead of their trials. That change, they say, could increase the state's incarceration rate and cause people to lose employment or custody of their children even if they are later proven innocent.
'This is a criminal legal reform issue that keeps people from immediately being held in jail after being arrested because they cannot afford to pay bail, or because they were arrested on a Friday night and now need to wait until Monday, or because they haven't been able to address tickets or pay fines, et cetera,' said Amanda Azad, policy director at the New Hampshire ACLU, which is recommending representatives vote no. 'So if people are deemed dangerous or not deemed dangerous, they shouldn't be incarcerated before they've even been convicted or had a trial.'
The Liberty Alliance is also seeking to encourage no votes. The group publishes a document known as the 'Gold Standard' ahead of House voting session days, in which the group lays out recommendations for how its members should vote on certain bills. In this week's document, members of the Liberty Alliance are recommended to vote against the bill.
'This bill does many things that are bad for civil liberties,' the document states, citing the elimination of the magistrate system and the change of the standard of proof to hold defendants as among the problems.
Asked Wednesday his reaction to the Liberty Alliance's recommendation, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, an Auburn Republican, said he was confident HB 592 would pass on Thursday
'The governor was very gracious and gave us a lot of time to try to negotiate with all of our members about all of their concerns,' he said. 'At the end of the day, not every word in the bill that came out of the committee is to every member's liking, but I do believe that Republicans as a whole will stand behind the product that was produced.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNBC
8 hours ago
- CNBC
CCTV Script 06/06/25
The war of words between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, which seemed to escalate almost hourly, has already cost real money in the capital markets. Overnight, Musk's personal net worth reportedly fell by approximately $34 billion. By aligning the timing of their social media exchanges with Tesla's stock movements, a clear pattern emerges: as the feud grew more intense, with language becoming increasingly blunt and emotional, Tesla's share price continued to slide. Many analysts believe that Tesla's stock is likely to remain volatile. To assess its future trajectory, we can start with the trigger of this conflict: a recently passed House spending bill. One provision would eliminate tax credits for electric vehicles—directly impacting Tesla. JPMorgan analysts estimate that the new legislation could cut Tesla's annual profits by around $1.2 billion. However, some market observers note that both Musk and others in the industry had long anticipated that the Trump administration would eventually scrap EV subsidies. This expectation has been priced in—it was only a matter of timing. But of even greater consequence is the second layer of impact: the broader regulatory posture of the White House toward Musk, particularly in the autonomous driving space. Timing is critical. Next week, Tesla is expected to debut its long-awaited Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Progress in self-driving technology has been a key reason many investors remain bullish on Tesla. But the breakdown in Musk's relationship with Trump could undermine those expectations. "there's a view that the battle here going on between musk and Trump, that this is going to continue to sort of, you know, increase, and with that, ultimately does is that autonomous and the regulatory vision does Trump now, now not start to play nice in the sandbox with musk.""Elon Musk, as brilliant as he can be, can also be mercurial and impetuous. CUT TO from a trading perspective, I think the stock could easily trade down into the 250s 260s until you get some support." Beyond the personal feud, the spotlight is also shifting to the broader relationship between Silicon Valley—the U.S. tech hub—and Washington, D.C.—the political center. As Musk and Trump move from allies to adversaries, their split is drawing attention to the evolving dynamic between big tech and federal power. Analysts told CNBC that during Trump's first term, major tech firms often found themselves in the administration's crosshairs. Companies like Meta, Google, and to some extent Apple were all named in antitrust inquiries. Now, the rift between Musk and Trump may open new doors for tech leaders who have had tense relations with Musk. For instance, Jeff Bezos—who also leads a space company—has in recent months made efforts to court Trump more closely, reportedly taking cues from Musk's political playbook. This shift may also present an opportunity for Sam Altman, CEO of AI startup OpenAI. "If you're a startup that's trying to make big names or big headlines with investments for the US, that's probably a good place to be." Still, some analysts caution that this overnight drama may not deserve too much attention. A defining feature of the Trump-era policymaking process has always been its volatility—things can shift dramatically within just a few hours. What ultimately matters is returning to the fundamentals and taking a long-term view of where the industry—and the economy—are heading.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Johnson: Deploying Marines to Los Angeles protests would not be ‘heavy-handed'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that deploying the Marine Corps to Los Angeles to suppress protests, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has suggested, would not be 'heavy-handed.' 'Secretary Hegseth said that active-duty Marines there at Camp Pendleton, there by San Diego, are on high alert and could be mobilized. Could we really see active-duty Marines on the streets of Los Angeles?' ABC News's Jonathan Karl asked on 'This Week.' 'You know, one of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don't think that's heavy-handed,' Johnson responded. Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the Los Angeles area on Saturday amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the action was due to 'violent mobs' attacking federal agents 'carrying out basic deportation operations.' 'The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,' Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X on Sunday morning. Deploying active-duty forces against Americans on U.S. soil would be an extraordinary move and would require bypassing laws that prevent the military from being used for domestic law enforcement purposes. There's also little precedent for deploying the National Guard to states that have not requested the help. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday went after Trump over the deployment of the National Guard to the Los Angeles area, saying the president 'thinks he has a right to do anything.' 'He does not believe in the Constitution; he does not believe in the rule of law,' Sanders told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union.' 'My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles, did not request the National Guard, but he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan's attorneys ask for no prison time for bribery conviction
The Brief Lawyers for ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan are asking that he not be sent to prison for his bribery conviction. Federal prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of more than 12 years and a $15 million fine. Earlier this year, a jury found Madigan guilty on 10 of 23 counts, including bribery and wire fraud. CHICAGO - Attorneys for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are asking that he not be given a prison sentence after he was convicted of bribery and conspiracy earlier this year. What we know Federal prosecutors have already called for sentencing Madigan to more than 12 years in prison, which his lawyers called "draconian," in a new court filing. Madigan's attorneys argued it would essentially be a life sentence for the 83-year-old. Instead, they're asking that Madigan be sentenced to five years' probation, including one year of home detention, community service, and a "reasonable" fine. Prosecutors said they're also seeking a $15 million fine from Madigan. "Madigan was in a special position of trust and responsibility to the public. Yet he deprived all residents of Illinois of honest government and eroded the public's trust," prosecutors wrote in their memo." Earlier this year, a jury found Madigan guilty on 10 of 23 counts, including bribery and wire fraud. The former speaker, arguably the most powerful politician in Illinois at one point, was accused of using his role leading the state House and heading the state Democratic Party to enrich himself and his allies by securing jobs, contracts, and other financial benefits. What's next Madigan's sentencing is scheduled for this Friday.