NH bill aims to protect elderly and vulnerable adults

CONCORD -- A local lawmaker’s bill to establish protective orders against elderly abuse is on its way to the governor’s desk.

The bill aims to give victims of financial or other forms of exploitation fast access to relief through the courts.

House Bill 696 was filed by state Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, and would create a process in the courts for vulnerable adults to get protective orders for immediate relief from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Cheryl Steinberg of the Senior Law Project at New Hampshire Legal Assistance, who crafted the bill, said there are few means for vulnerable adults to get immediate help from the court when people like their family members are taking advantage of them. She said the order would allow authorities to quickly prevent abusers’ from accessing their victim’s assets.

“There’s still the practical problem someone is stealing your money,” said Steinberg. “We thought we needed something a little more proactive to give the person, the victim, an ability to quickly go to court to stop the exploitation.”

Cushing and Steinberg say HB 696 is one step in a years-long process of improving the state’s protections for elderly and vulnerable adults. They started working together four years ago to keep cases of abuse against vulnerable people from “slipping through the cracks.” Cushing is a longtime victims’ rights advocate who has seen Alzheimer’s disease in his family, and Steinberg’s office provides pro bono legal assistance to low-income people and has worked with clients who were being taken advantage of.

The bill passed committee of conference June 27, sending it to the governor. Gov. Chris Sununu’s spokesman, Ben Vihstadt, said he could not say whether the governor would sign it, as the bill had not yet reached Sununu’s desk and that Sununu will review it once it does.

Cushing and Steinberg put a similar bill forward last year, but it was amended because some Republican lawmakers were concerned it infringed on gun rights. The bill passed with new language clarifying that financial exploitation included abuse of adults who lacked capacity to consent, the part establishing the protective order removed.

This year, Cushing filed the bill with what he and Steinberg believe is less restrictive language, but some Second Amendment proponents are calling for the bill to be vetoed. The bill as it passed the House and Senate states a peace officer can confiscate any deadly weapons involved in the alleged abuse, which is less restrictive than the domestic abuse protective order in which all guns are seized.

Steinberg said she thought giving police discretion would reduce concern from Second Amendment advocates, but Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown, said that discretion still leaves it open for police to take more guns than necessary.

“That line is still in there,” said Burt. “I do think they want to help the elderly ... this isn’t the way to do it. If you remove the (reference to) guns out of it, then I would have to re-look at the bill.”

Cushing and Steinberg insist the bill is not a “gun bill,” pointing out that existing protective orders are stricter than the one proposed in Cushing’s bill. The bill has been praised by organizations like AARP-NH and the Alzheimer’s Association regional chapter. Cushing said the bill’s passage would only be a small step in their long-term vision for improving protection for vulnerable people.

“The governor cares about vulnerable people,” said Cushing. “By passage of this bill, it takes a large step forward to making sure that our elderly and vulnerable population is not exploited.”

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NH bill aims to protect elderly and vulnerable adults