Revision: Jan. 30, 2017, 10:47 a.m.
HB 287 - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0736
04/01
HOUSE BILL 287
AN ACT establishing a committee to study decriminalizing sex work.
SPONSORS: Rep. E. Edwards, Hills. 11; Rep. Bouldin, Hills. 12; Rep. McGuire, Merr. 29; Rep. Murray, Rock. 24
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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This bill establishes a committee to study the decriminalization of sex work.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0736
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT establishing a committee to study decriminalizing sex work.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the decriminalization of sex work.
2 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
3 Duties. The committee shall study:
I. The positive and negative results of criminalizing sex work, decriminalizing the selling of sex, and decriminalizing both the buying and selling of sex work, including the effects on rates of rape and sexual assault, rates of sexually transmitted infections, costs to the police and court systems, number of arrests for prostitution, effects on future earnings potential to men and women with arrest records or conviction records, and demographics on race, gender identity, and socioeconomic status of arrested individuals compared to the general population.
II. Reports on sex work and human trafficking published by Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Foundations, and Anti-Slavery International.
III. Positives and negatives of changes to laws in Nevada, Rhode Island, Germany, Great Britain, and New Zealand.
IV. Testimony from sex workers in various jurisdictions including whether and how the decriminalization of sex work would make their lives better.
4 Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
5 Report. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2017.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.