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SB15 Relative to incorporating hard labor as a sentencing option for capital murder and serious sexual assaults on children, defining hard labor, establishing medical exemptions and penalties for abuse thereof, providing alternative punitive measures for legitimate medical exemptions, and authorizing jury determination of hard labor in qualifying cases.

Healthcare Active Auto-scored

Relative to incorporating hard labor as a sentencing option for capital murder and serious sexual assaults on children, defining hard labor, establishing medical exemptions and penalties for abuse thereof, providing alternative punitive measures for legitimate medical exemptions, and authorizing jury determination of hard labor in qualifying cases.

Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?

4

Overall Impact Score

Concerning

Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)

4
💰

Your Wallet

Implementing hard labor programs requires infrastructure, supervision, and medical screening costs that will increase corrections spending.

4
🏘️

Your Community

Targets the most serious offenders, but hard labor provisions raise constitutional concerns and may not improve public safety outcomes compared to existing sentences.

3
⚖️

Your Freedom

Hard labor sentences raise significant Eighth Amendment concerns about cruel and unusual punishment. While targeting heinous crimes, it sets a precedent that could expand.

Status

Special Order to the Present Time, Without Objection, Motion Adopted; 02/05/2026; Senate Journal 3

Voted Yes

0 R

Voted No

0 R

R Yes D Yes R No D No

Sponsor

William Gannon (R)

The Short Version

Adds hard labor as a sentencing option for capital murder and serious child sexual assaults. Defines hard labor, creates medical exemptions, and allows juries to impose it. Passed on a party-line vote.

Who's Behind This Bill?

Who Benefits

  • ▲ Victims of violent crimes seeking harsher punishment
  • ▲ Tough-on-crime advocates

Who Pays the Price

  • ▼ Incarcerated individuals
  • ▼ Taxpayers funding new labor program infrastructure
  • ▼ Civil liberties organizations

Roll Call Detail (1 vote)

Every recorded floor vote on this bill, with each legislator's individual vote. Click a name to see that rep's full record.

Who actually supports this bill?

Across the 1 recorded vote on this bill — counting each legislator's net direction and treating kill motions as opposing the bill — Republicans supported it ( 176 for , 12 against ) , and Democrats opposed it ( 3 for , 147 against ) .

"Supporting" means voting for passage OR voting against a kill motion. "Opposing" is the inverse. Concurs and amendment-only votes don't count.

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-01-07
Passed

YES = Pass the bill with the attached amendment. NO = Reject the bill (as amended).

176R + 3D
Voted to Pass (179)
12R + 147D
Voted Against (159)
32
Absent
25
Not voting
Show all 395 individual votes

Voted Yea (179)

Republicans (176)
Democrats (3)

Voted Nay (159)

Republicans (12)
Democrats (147)
Absent (32)

Adam Presa (R) , Allison Knab (D) , Cassandra Levesque (D) , Charles Foote (R) , Charlie St. Clair (D) , Christine Seibert (D) , David Nagel (R) , Deborah Aylward (R) , Denise DeDe-Poulin (R) , Douglas Trottier (R) , Efstathia Booras (D) , Ellen Rockmore (D) , Fred Davis (D) , Gaby Grossman (D) , Heath Howard (D) , Jim Creighton (R) , Jodi Nelson (R) , Larry Gagne (R) , Laurence Miner (R) , Linda Ryan (D) , Mary Murphy (R) , Merryl Gibbs (D) , Michael Cahill (D) , Michael Harrington (R) , Michael Murphy (R) , Mike Bordes (R) , Myles England (D) , Phyllis Katsakiores (R) , Richard Tripp (R) , Shane Sirois (R) , Tim Mannion (R) , Travis Toner (R)

Read the Actual Bill → See All Bills

Bill statuses as of May 2026. Check LegiScan or NH General Court for the latest.

This bill was auto-scored using AI analysis of the bill text and legislative data. Scores may be refined as we review more bills.