establishing sexual assault orders of protection and relative to sexual assault survivors' rights.
HB 1651 establishes sexual assault protective orders, allowing survivors to file civil petitions in circuit court to obtain court-issued orders for their safety. These orders, modeled after existing protective orders under RSA 173-B, can last up to one year initially and be extended for up to five years with court approval, requiring annual safety reviews. The bill also updates survivors' rights by guaranteeing free preservation of sexual assault evidence kits for up to 20 years (or the statute of limitations, whichever is longer), disclosure of kit results without compromising investigations, and written information about kit handling procedures. It directly affects sexual assault survivors and defendants facing these orders, while clarifying that attorneys may contact survivors under strict conditions for legitimate legal purposes.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jul 2026
Introduced Dec 10, 2025
Signed Jul 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
Version adopted by both bodies
→
CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The changes between the adopted version and the chaptered final version are entirely technical and formatting-related. The bill was assigned Chapter 238, sections were renumbered with the chapter prefix (e.g., 238:1, 238:2, 238:3), an Oxford comma was added in one instance, and approval/effective dates were appended at the end. No substantive policy changes were made.
TECHNICAL
The bill was assigned Chapter 238 and all section numbers were prefixed with the chapter number (e.g., 'New Section' became '238:1', '2' became '238:2', '3' became '238:3').
An Oxford comma was added: 'physical, psychological or emotional' became 'physical, psychological, or emotional.'
Page headers, spacing, alignment, and footer information were reformatted to match the final enrolled format.
TIMELINE
Approval date (July 02, 2026) and effective date (January 01, 2027) were added at the end of the document.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
16
Key actions
5
Committee
4
Amendments
3
Jul 10, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/02/2026; Chapter 238; eff. 1/1/2027
lower
May 21, 2026
Introduced
House Concurs with Senate Amendment 2026-1814s (Rep. Roy): MA VV 05/21/2026 HJ 14 P. 2
lower
May 7, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1814s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/07/2026; SJ 11
upper
May 7, 2026
Introduced
Sen. Gannon Floor Amendment # 2026-1814s, AA, VV; 05/07/2026; SJ 11
upper
Apr 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/07/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 17
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Introduced
Introduced 03/05/2026 and Referred to Judiciary; SJ 6
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0139h: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 9
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Amendment # 2026-0139h: AA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 9
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0139h 02/18/2026 (Vote 12-0; CC) HC 9 P. 8
lower
Dec 10, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety HJ 1 P. 30
lower
1 primary · 12 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Jennifer Rhodes
RRepublican
Co
Alexis Simpson
DDemocratic
Co
Alissandra Murray
DDemocratic
Co
Bill Gannon
RRepublican
Co
David Meuse
DDemocratic
Co
Denise Ricciardi
RRepublican
Co
Eileen Kelly
DDemocratic
Co
Jodi Nelson
RRepublican
Co
Katelyn Kuttab
RRepublican
Co
Nancy Murphy
DDemocratic
Co
Rebecca Perkins Kwoka
DDemocratic
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