Carson commends Senate passage of stronger DCYF reporting requirements

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Today, Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statement on the passage of SB 63, which would extend the timeline for retaining abuse and neglect reports.

“This legislation serves to strengthen the screening process for abuse or neglect reports and would allow for those reports, to be kept on file for much longer than the one year limit previously in place in certain cases. It also requires founded abuse or neglect reporter be kept indefinitely.

“Keeping these reports for seven years is critical to DCYF’s case manager’s ability to determine if a pattern of behaviors over a longer period of time.

“Passing this legislation is an important step in our ongoing efforts to ensure that children in the DCYF system are protected from abuse and neglect.

Carson Praises Bill Ensuring Medical Imaging Professionals Meet High Standards

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Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statement upon the ceremonial signing of SB 330 into law today.

“I am pleased that SB 330 has been signed into law because it will benefit not only the medical imaging technicians across the State of New Hampshire, but also patients they are serving,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry), the bill’s prime sponsor. “This bill ensures that medical imaging technicians attain an important high level of expertise in the field and are practicing the correct techniques and using appropriate safety precautions with every patient they examine. This new law will raise the bar and ensure New Hampshire consumers receive quality, safety and excellence in healthcare.”

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Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) speaks on behalf of her bill, SB 330, relative to licensure of medical imaging professionals and radiation therapists, during the ceremonial signing on Tuesday.

New Hampshire Senate Fails to Agree on Drone Legislation

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BY: Garry Rayno, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester

Carson(TNS) — An attempt to protect the business use of drones upended agreement on how best to regulate drones to protect the privacy of state residents.

The Senate version of House Bill 602 exempts business use from many of the prohibitions for private and government use of drones, and the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare, wanted the provisions removed.

Under the bill, both government- and privately-owned drones would need permission to travel over private property.

Law enforcement would not be allowed to fly a drone below 250 feet over private property to collect information without the consent of the owner. Drone owners would be required to follow all federal guidelines within five miles of an airport, weapons of any kind would be prohibited, and they may not be used to harass or stalk anyone.

Kurk noted the business exemption would allow a licensed private eye to follow someone with an armed drone almost anywhere, but the Senate’s chief negotiator, Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, disagreed saying they had to be used for legitimate business purposes, noting they are not allowed to harass or stalk someone.

She said she had a number of meetings with business owners who were concerned the House version of the bill would impact their businesses.

“We want to make sure business is able to do business,” Carson said.

But Kurk argued while businesses do not have to abide by any of the prohibitions, there are no federal guidelines in place to prevent intrusions.

Conference committee member Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, who worked on the bill for the past three years, said the House was trying to balance the new technology against the privacy of residents. “We attempted to deal with the question of trespass in modern America,” Cushing said. “You can enter someone’s property in a way that was never done before.”

He said New Hampshire puts a premium on being left alone by government or someone else. “I don’t want Home Depot taking a picture of my lawn furniture,” Cushing said, “and then sending me something saying it’s time to replace it.”
The conference committee did not set a time to meet again.

This article was printed from: http://www.govtech.com/policy/New-Hampshire-Senate-Fails-to-Agree-on-Drone-Legislation.html

Carson supports bill to detain minors awaiting trial at Sununu Center

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Sharon_atsenatedeskConcord, NH – Today, the Senate passed a bill, SB 466-FN, which would authorize minors detained while waiting for disposition of their case to be housed at the Sununu Youth Services Center.

Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued a statement upon passage of this bill.

“This bill serves as a step in the right direction when dealing with juvenile offenders in New Hampshire because it brings our state into compliance with federal mandates under the prison Rape Elimination Act by placing minors waiting for trial at the Sununu Youth Services Center. The Federal mandate requires minors, under the age of 18, even if they are being tried as an adult to be under an officer’s supervision 24-hours a day in an adult prison or jail, which is not cost-effective, or they can be detained in a facility for youth only, which is what this bill serves to do in New Hampshire.”

“This legislation will require the Department of Corrections and Department of Health and Human Services to develop a memorandum of understanding pertaining to use of the Sununu Center for pretrial confinement and asks that they decide which department has jurisdiction over this population of detained minors.”

Carson disappointed by sustained veto of voter residency bill

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CarsonConcord, NH – Today, the Senate was unable to overturn the veto on SB 179, which would have required a 30-day residency for voting purposes in New Hampshire.

Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) released a statement following the vote.

“I am disappointed that the Senate was unable to come together to override legislation that would have restored meaningful elections to the citizens of New Hampshire. Requiring a 30-day residency for voting purposes would work to clarify and ensure that legal residents, invested in their communities can affect change. This legislation was also designed to reduce incidences of voter fraud in the form of drive-by-voting without infringing on an individual’s right to vote in open and free elections in New Hampshire,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R- Londonderry).

“This legislation, which passed both the House and the Senate, was crafted alongside New Hampshire’s Secretary of State William Gardner, who was fully supportive of implementing a residency requirement because it would strengthen the meaning of the votes cast in the state.”