CHAPTER 237
HB 1662-FN – FINAL VERSION
04/13/06 1671s
2006 SESSION
04/09
HOUSE BILL 1662-FN
AN ACT establishing the crime of peonage.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27; Rep. Renzullo, Hills 27; Rep. Buhlman, Hills 27; Rep. Kennedy, Merr 4; Rep. Mirski, Graf 10
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill makes peonage a crime. Peonage is a condition of involuntary servitude based on indebtedness.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/13/06 1671s
06-2105
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT establishing the crime of peonage.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
237:1 New Section; Interference With Freedom; Peonage Prohibited. Amend RSA 633 by inserting after section 4 the following new section:
633:5 Peonage.
I. An actor is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if such person knowingly holds a victim in a condition of involuntary servitude in satisfaction of a debt owed to the actor. In this section, “involuntary servitude” means a condition of servitude in which the victim is forced to work for the actor by the use or threat of physical restraint or physical injury, or by the use or threat of coercion through law or the legal process.
II. The use of the labor of any person incarcerated in a state or county correctional facility or municipal jail shall be exempt from this section.
237:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.
Approved: June 1, 2006
Effective: January 1, 2007