CONCORD, N.H. – A bill sponsored by nine Manchester-based legislators seeking to enhance enforcement of criminal restitution obligations received a public hearing before the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on Jan. 22, 2026.
The bill, HB 1576 aims to close what prime sponsor Kathleen Paquette describes as long-standing gaps in state law that have left thousands of victims without timely restitution, clear communication, or meaningful accountability. Within the bill’s language, new requirements for offenders to provide updates in their financial circumstances every 12 months would be added to state law in addition to regular and transparent communications between the New Hampshire Department of Corrections and victims as well as clear timelines for disbursing restitution payments to victims.
Paquette shared her experience as a victim of crime, waiting ten years to obtain restitution in 2018. After small but steady payments, she told the committee that restitution became inconsistent after the offender in her case obtained parole in 2020 and the need to search for information on the payments renewed trauma she sought to escape.
“Restitution is meant to make a survivor whole. Fighting to receive it breaks survivors down over and over again,” she said.
Paquette added that there are 13,000 victims of crime in New Hampshire that are owed restitution as part of criminal offenders that are not being paid for one reason or another.
“I’m asking you to help the Department of Corrections move forward and I’m asking you to help survivors of crimes get the restitution they have been awarded promptly, transparently, and with dignity,” she added.
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections acts as a buffer between offenders and victims regarding restitution payments, and New Hampshire Department of Corrections Assistance Commissioner Jessica Kuron told the committee that approximately 60 percent of the offenders owing restitution are currently in non-compliance.
Like everyone that testified before the committee, Kuron indicated that the Department of Correction supports the legislation and would appreciate the codification of policies within the legislation that are already being attempted, when possible, such as wage garnishment. However, Kuron also noted that the Department of Correction’s resources are limited following $25 million in cuts to its budget over the last year.
“We absolutely should be doing a better job supporting our victims in New Hampshire and we absolutely could be doing a better job as an agency in all of these areas, but it’s an impossible task for only four people to manage,” said Kuron.
Among the bill’s sponsors, Paquette was joined by fellow Manchester House Republicans Larry Gagne (Ward 6), Brian Cole (Ward 7), Mark McLean (Ward 8), Pierre Dupont (Ward 9), Steven Kesselring (Ward 12) and Jonathan Morton (Ward 6, 8 and 9. The other two Manchester legislators co-sponsoring the bill include Democratic State Representative Jess Grill (Ward 12) and Republican State Senator Victoria Sullivan (Wards 5,6,7,8,9 and Litchfield). The bill was also co-sponsored by Republicans Lori Korzen of Berlin and Linda McGrath of Hampton.
Text of the bill can be found here.
As of January 27, no date has been announced regarding a committee vote on the bill, although it is expected to occur on or before February 12.