HB 1287 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to special number plates for veterans and eligibility therefore.

HB 1287 updates New Hampshire's definition of "veteran" to match the federal standard, requiring active military service (including naval, air, or space forces) and a non-dishonorable discharge. This affects veterans seeking state benefits like special license plates and employment preferences by aligning state eligibility with federal criteria. The bill amends multiple statutes - including those governing proof of veteran status, special license plates (RSA 261:87-b), and veterans' decals (RSA 261-C:3) - to replace outdated references with the federal definition. It ensures consistency between state and federal veteran eligibility without creating new benefits or altering existing programs.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed Apr 22, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 3 edits
MINOR
No substantive policy changes were made between the version adopted by both bodies and the final chaptered version. The changes are entirely technical: reformatting for the official chapter layout, a spelling correction ('therefore' to 'therefor'), and the addition of standard approval and effective dates.
TECHNICAL

Spelling corrected from 'therefore' to 'therefor' in the bill title and analysis sections.

Document was reformatted from bill layout to official chapter layout, including renumbering sections with chapter prefix (e.g., '1' becomes '35:1') and adjusted line wrapping.

TIMELINE

Approval date (April 22, 2026) and effective date (June 21, 2026) were added at the end of the document, as is standard when a bill is enrolled as a chapter.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
15
Key actions
5
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Apr 22, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor Ayotte 04/22/2026; Chapter 35; eff. 06/21/2026
lower
Mar 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 03/26/2026; SJ 7
upper
Mar 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 03/26/2026; Vote 4-0; CC; SC 11
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Introduced
Introduced 02/19/2026 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; SJ 5
upper
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0198h: MA VV 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 31
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
Amendment # 2026-0198h: AA VV 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 31
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0198h (NT) 02/06/2026 (Vote 17-0; CC) HC 7 P. 20
lower
Dec 1, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs HJ 1 P. 14
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Travis Corcoran
Travis Corcoran
RRepublican
NH
Hillsborough 28