On June 27, the New Hampshire Legislature passed HB696, for Protective Orders of Older Adults. It’s common sense legislation with bi-partisan compromise to better protect New Hampshire’s older ad disabled adults from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The bill will soon be on Gov. Sununu’s desk. We urge the Governor to sign this important bill into law. A diverse group of Stakeholders, including Granite State Independent Living, the New Hampshire Alliance for Healthy Aging, AARP, the ALzheimer’s Association, and concerned citizens across the state all stand behind the bill.

Current protective order don’t grant relief that would prohibit the abuser from taking any of the victim’s property or freeze an abuser’s assets. HB 696 expands our current protective order laws to include such provisions and allow vulnerable adults ( a person who is unable to manage their own affairs due to a physical, mental or emotional impairment.) to obtain a protective order to get immediate relief from abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

Cheryl Steinberg, the Director of the Senior law Project at New Hampshire Legal Assistance had this to say about HB 696: ” Elder abuse and exploitation are major problems in the Granite State. New Hampshire is already the second oldest state in the country. This significant aging of our state has resulted in increased incidents of elder financial exploitation. For this reason, it is critical that victims have a mechanism to quickly stop the exploitation. HB 696 does just that. It provides a user friendly process for older and vulnerable adults to seek immediate relief from exploitation or other forms of abuse. We applaud Gov. Sununu for his past efforts in supporting our State’s aging population. By allowing this bill to become law , the Governor will be taking another important step forward in protecting our state’s most vulnerable citizens”

Please consider reaching out to the governor and ask him to support HB 696 and vulnerable adults throughout the state.

Newsletter