Judiciary Committee considers French's proposed Civil Rights Act

CONCORD — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 36, an act whose prime sponsor, Sen. Harold French (R-Franklin), said would give standing to New Hampshire residents filing civil suits against the government when it violates their constitutional rights.

Currently, the courts have ruled that residents do not have standing to bring a civil suit against the state.

“New Hampshire citizens should have the ability to bring a lawsuit against the state if their state constitutional rights are violated, just like current practice at the Federal level,” French said. “Unfortunately, Granite Staters do not have the means to remedy a violation of their constitutional rights in state court and this legislation would be a long overdue fix to many years of injustice."

After the hearing, French said, "I am disappointed that the only group who spoke in opposition to the bill opposed it because of added costs to the state and municipalities. In my opinion, these small court costs are inconsequential when our constitutional rights are being violated.”