Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes an automatic annulment process for all cannabis possession violations and misdemeanors for which sentences are complete, and re-sentencing for incarcerated individuals serving time for cannabis-related crimes in the state of New Hampshire.

Highlights:

• Authorizes any person to petition the court and annul the arrest record, court record or both if they possessed no more than the possession limit of marijuana before July 1, 2024 (Sec. 1). 

• Establishes that the person must petition the court in the court where they were convicted or arrested (Sec. 1). 

• Authorizes the prosecutor to object within 10 days of receiving a copy of the petition and request a hearing (Sec. 1). 

• Establishes that a prosecutor's failure to object within 10 days will result in the court granting the petitioner annulment (Sec. 1). 

• Expands that during the hearing the prosecutor must, without a doubt, prove that the petitioner knowingly obtained, purchased, transported, or possessed an amount of marijuana beyond the possession limit (Sec. 1). 

• Expands that any person who was arrested or convicted of any cannabis-related offense may, at any time, petition the court in which the person was convicted (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the prosecutor to object within 14 days of receiving a copy of the petition and request a hearing (Sec. 1). 

• Establishes that a prosecutor's failure to object within 14 days will result in the court granting the petitioner annulment (Sec. 1). 

• Specifies that all convictions and arrests for misdemeanor or violation level offenses for possession of cannabis shall be automatically annulled (Sec. 2). 

• Requires the department of safety to remove any qualified convictions from records and notify courts from which the case originated, within 6 months of the effective date of this act (Sec. 2). 

• Establishes that annulments of convictions and civil adjudications shall be granted notwithstanding the existence of outstanding court-imposed or related fees, fines, costs, assessments, or charges (Sec. 2). 

Full Bill Text