New Hampshire is poised to become the latest state to criminalize so-called revenge porn, when a jilted ex-lover sends out nude images of a past partner without consent.
The Republican-led House passed the legislation to ban the practice Wednesday. The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, who plans to sign it into law, according to her spokesman.
The bill would ban the dissemination of private sexual images without the subject’s consent, in cases of intimidation, harassment or threatening. Those convicted of the crime would be guilty of a felony, but wouldn’t have to appear on the state’s sex offender registry.
The legislation is aimed at stopping revenge porn, but it also bans the sharing of images collected without a subject’s consent, through a hidden camera in a shower or a bedroom.
Both instances are very damaging to victims, advocates say. The images can be used as a threat, a form of coercion or a means of retaliation.
More than two dozen states across the country have already enacted similar laws to crack down on the issue.
Public hearings on the bill drew victims who testified their private photos had been stolen and in some cases shared.
One woman said an acquaintance went through her phone, found “private photos” of her and sent them to himself.
Even though she took the allegations to police, her case was dismissed in court because no law on the books prevented the taking of such images, she said.
The bill faced some opposition from some critics who said the penalty was too harsh.
Amid a growing substance abuse problem, the House passed legislation Wednesday that would let the state initiate child neglect investigations of parents who are abusing opioids and not seeking treatment. It cleared the chamber in a 203-149 vote.
More than 400 people died from drug overdoses in New Hampshire last year. And the opioid crisis is increasingly taking a toll on the children of addicted adults. The number of referrals made to the Division for Children, Youth and Families of children born exposed to drugs has increased more than 50 percent, from 285 in 2013 to 430 in 2015.
As the number of abuse and neglect reports being investigated by the division has risen steadily since 2013, so has the number of reports related to substance abuse.
The Republican-led Senate passed a different version of the bill earlier this year. The two chambers will have to reach agreement before sending the bill onto Hassan.