ConsideringNew Hampshire NH

Crime / kid safety

Keep kids’ holiday routes clear

Model draft proposal, version 2.4. This is a model draft proposal — not introduced, not enacted, not OLS-filed. Not current New Hampshire law.

Halloween, Easter, and Christmas are when children go door to door or gather for candy. Other states already set rules for people on the child sex-offender registry during those windows. Under RSA 651-B, people who must register also have reporting duties. Those duties do not cover what a registered person may do while children are collecting treats.

What this draft would do

For a covered offender against children, the draft would apply on Halloween (and during any hours a town has set for trick-or-treating), on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The hours in the draft are 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on October 31, plus any other trick-or-treat period a town has set; 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday; and 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on December 24 and December 25.

During those hours, the draft would bar a covered person from:

A covered person could still celebrate with their own children or grandchildren when no other person under 18 is there. The draft would not require a yard sign or any other posted statement. Covered people would get written notice from the department, and again at registration. A first knowing violation would be a class B misdemeanor. A later one would be a class A misdemeanor. A town could adopt stricter holiday rules. A town still could not invent a residency buffer. RSA 651-B:13.

This page does not claim a measured drop in offenses. No count of that kind is cited here.

Draft model bill (v2.4)

The text below is the full draft for New Hampshire. Under this draft, the act would take effect 60 days after passage. It has not been introduced, it has not been enacted, and it has not been filed with the Office of Legislative Services.

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Seven

AN ACT relative to holiday restrictions for certain offenders against children.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Registration of Criminal Offenders; Holiday Restrictions.
Amend RSA 651-B by inserting after section 4-a the following new section:

651-B:4-b Holiday Restrictions for Certain Offenders Against Children.
I. In this section, "covered person" means an offender against children required to register under this chapter whose offense against a child involved a victim under 18 years of age, and who:
  (a) Is on probation, parole, or other supervised release on or after the effective date of this section; or
  (b) Commits the offense requiring registration on or after the effective date of this section.
II. A covered person shall not engage in the conduct in paragraph III:
  (a) On October 31 of each year, from 3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., local time, and during any other period a municipality has designated for trick-or-treating;
  (b) On Easter Sunday of each year, and on the Saturday immediately before Easter Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., local time; and
  (c) On December 24 and December 25 of each year, from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., local time.
III. During the times in paragraph II, a covered person shall not:
  (a) Distribute candy, treats, or other gifts to any person under 18 years of age;
  (b) Permit the distribution of candy, treats, or other gifts to any person under 18 years of age from the covered person's residence;
  (c) Wear a costume, mask, or disguise for the purpose of attracting or interacting with persons under 18 years of age; or
  (d) On October 31 and during any municipal trick-or-treat period only, display exterior Halloween decorations, or exterior residential lighting other than lighting used year-round for security or walkways, at the covered person's residence, when the decoration or lighting is displayed for the purpose of attracting children to the residence.
IV. This section shall not apply to activities involving only the covered person's own children or grandchildren, where no other person under 18 years of age is present.
V. This section shall not require any person to post a sign or make any other statement.
VI. (a) Within 30 days after the effective date of this section, the department shall cause written notice of the requirements of this section to be provided to each covered person then on probation, parole, or other supervised release, and to each local law enforcement agency that registers offenders under this chapter.
  (b) Thereafter, the local law enforcement agency shall provide written notice of the requirements of this section to each covered person at the person's next in-person registration under RSA 651-B:4, and the court or releasing authority shall include such notice when advising an offender of registration duties under RSA 651-B:3.
VII. Any person who knowingly violates this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a class A misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.
VIII. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a political subdivision of the state from adopting an ordinance or bylaw that imposes additional holiday restrictions on persons required to register under this chapter, provided the ordinance or bylaw does not restrict the residence of a sexual offender or an offender against children in violation of RSA 651-B:13.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Download the draft as a text file (v2.4).

This is not legal advice. This site is not a law firm and is not a registered lobbyist.

Who is covered, and why this approach

The draft would cover an offender against children who must register, whose victim was under 18, and who meets one of two conditions: the person is on probation, parole, or other supervised release on or after the effective date, or the offense that requires registration happens on or after that date.

Coverage is limited the way Florida limits certain supervision conditions in Fla. Stat. § 948.30(4)(b). The limit is meant to lower retrospective-law risk under Part I, Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution. See also Doe v. State.

Parents who check a route before trick-or-treat, or before a holiday visit, would have one statewide floor. A town could go further. Under this draft, the rules would follow Clay County, Florida’s Halloween ordinance and Louisiana’s rule against candy handouts on more than one holiday, and would leave out Missouri’s yard-sign rule, which a court struck down.

Source thread: https://x.com/ConsideringNH/status/2113394479562650096.

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